Monthly Archives: September 2009

Missouri State Bears Schedule Update

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Due to the delays in replacing the lights at Plaster Stadium, the schedule for the final 3 games of the regular season has been released. As always, my calendar has been updated to reflect these changes.

On October 24, the Bears will face the Bradley Braves at a new start time of 3:00 p.m. One week later, the home match against Drake will move from Saturday to Sunday, November 1 at 1:00 p.m. The men’s senior night will also be affected as the start time on Wednesday, November 4 will be moved to 1:00 p.m.

The Missouri State women’s soccer program will move its senior night match against Illinois State on Thursday, October 29 to a 1:00 p.m. kickoff. The match will be the Bears final home match of the regular season.

Saturday, October 24th MSU vs. Bradley 3PM

Thursday, October 29 Women’s Soccer vs. Illinois State 1:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 1st MSU vs. Drake 1PM

Wednesday, November 4th MSU vs. Evansville 1PM

Updates can also be found on the Bear’s website.

Missouri State Bears Represent!

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I went out to Missouri State this afternoon to chat with Johannes Demarzi, I wanted to hear about the win over #6 ranked Creighton on Saturday, the biggest win I can think of in the 7 years I’ve been watching this team. Enjoy the interview, the quality is pretty good and I think you get to see some of Demarzi’s inner fire. After I got home to process it, the good news from the Missouri Valley Conference started flowing in as well.

Missouri State men’s soccer players Alex Riggs and Johannes Demarzi were named MVC Defensive and Offensive Players of the Week, respectively, by the league office today.

SLU Billikens host Missouri State BearsRiggs (Ft Zumwalt South, St Peters, MO) shut out Creighton on the road on Saturday and Centenary at home on Wednesday to run his shutout streak to three matches. Riggs came up huge with a save at Creighton as Missouri State began conference play with a big 1-0 win on the road to begin conference play. He also made one save against Centenary in the Bears’ 4-0 win. Riggs now owns a 327 minute and 30 second shutout streak, dropping his goals against average for the season to 0.57.

The Missouri State men’s soccer team (3-1-1, 1-0-0) used a goal by sophomore Jordan Hoffman in the final minute of the first half to knock off No. 6 Creighton (1-1-1, 0-1-0) on the road Saturday.

Hoffman buried a header off a corner kick by senior Johannes Demarzi (Sacramento Waldorf High, Sacramento, CA) in the 45th minute to give Missouri State a 1-0 lead it would not relinquish. The goal was Hoffman’s first of the season and the first of his career. Demarzi’s assist moves him into the team lead for points this season with seven, after he tallied a goal and two assists earlier this week.

Missouri State Lady Bears Shut Out Oral RobertsMissouri State sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Teahan was named Defensive Player of the Week by the Missouri Valley Conference, the league office announced today.

Teahan (St Thomas Aquinas HS, Lenaxa, KS) narrowly missed her fourth consecutive shutout, allowing the lone goal to No. 18 San Diego in the 84th minute of Sunday’s match. She owned a streak of 425 minutes and 58 seconds without allowing a goal prior to Sunday’s goal, the longest streak since 2006 for a Missouri State keeper. Teahan made seven saves in Sunday’s match against San Diego and seven on Friday in the scoreless tie with South Dakota State. She also made four saves in the shutout win over UMKC and shut out Oral Roberts last Sunday (Sept. 13) with eight saves.

On the season, Teahan’s goals against average is down to 0.86 and she has played every minute in goal for the Bears. She has recorded a shutout in five of the Bears 10 matches.

Teahan and the Bears will open conference play at home on Sunday, September 27 against UNI at 2:00 p.m. Missouri State has beaten UNI the past six seasons, outscoring the Panthers 20-2 in those six matches. The Bears are 10-1-0 all-time against UNI, with the only blemish occurring in the 2002 MVC Tournament.

This Week In Southwest Missouri Soccer

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I see some light at the end of the tunnel and feel like I’ve got the high school beat under control. I’ve uploaded schedules for about half of the teams, I’ve covered games featuring over 20 different teams in the region since Labor Day (with hundreds of photos and dozens of videos) I’m behind on uploading photos to the commercial site, where you can purchase photos and related items featuring your favorite players but I’ll keep you updated. There are plenty of pictures from last year *winks*

Before I dig into this week’s calendar, a look back. A parent/team that’s been very innovative is Randy Bailey at Springfield Catholic who with a relatively inexpensive Sony camcorder (less than $400) is generating hundreds of hits on the short video clips he is posting from the Catholic games. The money shot is always the goal and he’s got all 3 Catholic goals from Saturday’s game against Greenwood. Check them out on his YouTube channel.

Still early in the High School season but there look to be some interesting matchups this week. I’m trying to see some teams still so I won’t necessarily be at these games but local fans might want to consider them

Tuesday – Carthage vs Ozark as the teams that fought in the Christian County Tournament Final get a rematch 10 days later, this time on Carthage’s grass pitch
Thursday – Carthage @ Catholic offers Catholic a chance at a strong Class3 team. They lost to Waynesville in their first game, how will this one turn out? Kickapoo @ Ozark will offer a good look at a pair of District 11 teams in an early fight that has seeding implications and finally, Glendale hosts Waynesville who as noted earlier beat Catholic. Can they come to Springfield and knock off another local power?

Weekend Tournaments including Bolivar Liberators, Sedalia Sacred Heart and we have some out-of-town visitors locally with Jackson and Cape Central visiting to play Glendale and Parkview in a set of Friday/Saturday tilts.

u20egypt_wclogoThe U20 World Cup opens this week in Egypt. The US is paired with Germany, Cameroon and the Korean Republic in Group C. The tournament opens on Thursday when the hosts Egypt face off against Trinidad & Tobago. The first game for the US comes on Saturday September 26th at 9:00 am vs Germany. The group stages include the following games:

Date Opponent Kickoff (CT)
Sept. 26 vs. Germany 9 am (ESPN Classic, ESPN360.com, Galavision)
Sept. 29 vs. Cameroon 11:45 am (ESPN2, Galavision)
Oct. 2 vs. Korea Republic 11:45 am (ESPN2, Galavision)

I’ve updated my calendar to reflect the information above and will keep it up-to-date as the tournament progresses.

The roster is a mix of MLS, College and foreign-based players. If you recall the last U20 tournament, held in Canada in 2007, when Altidore and Adu smoked their peers in some fantastic games, then you know we’ll see some future stars and a few that will go bust. I for one am looking forward to it!

The Missouri State Lady Bears open Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend when they host the Northern Iowa Panthers on Sunday at 2:00 pm. The next time you’ll see them is 3 weeks later so get out while the weather is still good.

The Missouri State men are on the road this weekend, in Dallas for the Southern Methodist tournament. They’ll play Houston Baptist on Friday and SMU on Sunday.

The Drury Panthers are on the road, with Conference games in Rolla against the Missouri S&T Miners on Friday and in St Louis against Maryville University on Sunday.

Missouri Southern travels to Truman State on Thursday, another tough MIAA road game but will welcome the opportunity to play at home again on Saturday against Missouri Western. The Southwest Baptist Bearcats are also traveling, for games against Emporia State and Washburn.

take-no-prisonersBefore leaving, I want to send a shout out to the Pink Panthers, a U13 girls team from the Carl Junction area. They sent me a note pointing to their website and the games they played locally this past weekend. A nice site, using my favorite WordPress website software and including some great photography. The photo is from the site, and the game against the Lake Country Soccer Academy team.

SGFsoccer.com Tweets on 2009-09-21

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  • Stuart Ziegler! RT @ZizzerSoccer: Medaille (7-0-1) beats Franciscan Univ. 4-1. Stuart Ziegler scores game winner in the 17th min. #
  • Jessica Brixey! RT @ZizzerSoccer: Culver-Stockton (3-3-0) beats Mount Mary 9-0. Jessica Brixey scores a goal in the 30th minute. #
  • Lady Bears lose RT @MissouriStBears Late Goal by No. 18 San Diego Downs Bears at Kansas Invitational http://bit.ly/14HslM #
  • RT @bradleybraves Tulsa Uses Second-Half Rally to Knock Off #28 Bradley, 2-1 http://bit.ly/3Do91g #

Put On Your Blue Suede Shoes St Louis

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2010 WC LogoSt. Louis will host a site visit Monday by a key member of the national bid committee attempting to lure the World Cup soccer tournament to the United States in either 2018 or 2022.

John Kristick, managing director of bid planning and operations for the USA Bid Committee, will evaluate St. Louis and the Edward Jones Dome as a potential site to host games should the U.S. bid succeed.

The St. Louis Business Journal has all the details in World Cup site visit slated for Monday

SGFsoccer.com Tweets on 2009-09-20

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  • Nick Schlichtman game-winner! RT @TrumanAthletics: Men's Soccer upsets #7 Incarnate Word 3-2. Big Victory for the 'Dogs. #
  • Missouri State @ Creighton 2nite RT @JDemarzi Creightons stadium Very nice. Great place for a victory!! Go bears! http://yfrog.com/0w6wsj #
  • Emily Jordan! RT @BobJordan In women's college soccer, Concordia College defeated Gustavus Adolphus, 1-0. #
  • Taylor Arens scores in the 38th, knocking in a rebound of Nick Kofron's direct kick, 1-0 Catholic #
  • Devin Whitlock ties the game in the 37th with his perfectly flighted shot taken on his run down the right, before entering the box. 1-1 #
  • David Bailey scores in 39th, waiting at the far post in the 6 yd box for Taylor Arens cross after Arens turned his defender. 2-1 Catholic #
  • Big save by Hawken Thieme on point blank shot by Catholic, 68th min. 2-1 Catholic #
  • Luke Strauss is allowed to run into , and across the face of the goal, scoring Catholic's 3rd in the 72nd. Assist Reid Harbach. 3-1 Catholic #
  • Bears win 1-0! RT @JDemarzi Predictions for the day. Missouri State men's soccer beats Creighton; UCLA beats Kansas State. #

Springfield Small School Derby – Catholic Wins

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Springfield Catholic – 3
Greenwood Bluejays – 1
In a game that is always entertains, the Irish ensured that the pecking order established by the recent State Coaches poll remained intact, finally wearing down their Northern neighbor with a pair of goals in the 2nd half that made the difference. Both teams came out in attack mode this evening, despite the sloppy conditions. The Irish drew first blood when sr Captain Justin Bowenschulte put a direct kick on goal from 26 yards out. Keeper Hawken Theime kept the ball out but the rebound was pounced on by Taylor Arens in the 28th minute.

Greenwood answered back quickly, with the finest goal I’ve seen this season. Sr Captain Chris Aiken sent jr Devin Whitlock down the right side and the forward sent a perfectly flighted shot, from a full run, over the keeper and into the back of the net with his shot from outside the box. 1-1 in the 37th and that’s were it finished at halftime (I’ve updated my Tweets which had incorrect times, it was an exciting game!).

Catholic sealed the win as they slowly wore down the visitors. The game-winner was scored by sr Captain David Bailey when he was left unmarked at the far post at the top of the 6 yard box. The real key to the play was the work of jr Taylor Arens who’s fine individual effort, moving away from the goal along the end line before turning and beating the defender before flighting his cross to the far poast allowed Bailey his simple tap-in. Catholic 2-1 in the 49th minute.

The final goal was scored by so. Luke Strauss who was sent down the left side by Reid Harbach’s simple but direct pass. Strauss was inexplicably allowed to run into the box, turn to his right across the face of the goal and unleash his shot, handcuffing keeper Thieme who played a superb game, including his block of a point blank shot in the 68th that kept the Jays close. The goal was scored in the 72nd.

Both teams played strong games, especially given the conditions, avoiding mistakes with consistent ball striking and a high work rate. As noted in the interview (video, featuring David Bailey and Justin Bowenschulte from Catholic) the game was worthy of a District game and the Jay’s underclassmen should benefit from the lessons learned in the highly charge environment tonight. An important game, but not the one that counts. Don’t miss the next one folks!

For those who missed the game, sign up for a Twitter account and follow the action of the games I attend.

Parkview Vikings Shootout

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Tournament Champion – Farmington Knights

photos of the champs can be found here or on Facebook (coming tonight)

    Winner’s Bracket

Parkview Vikings – 2
Neosho Wildcats – 3 (2nd ot)
The Wildcats get their biggest win of the season, so far, and move into the Title game against Farmington. They come back from an 0-2 deficit in the final 20 minutes of the game to tie and move into overtime. The game-winner was scored by …

Carthage Tigers – 0
Farmington Knights – 1 (ot)
A PK call on a hand ball in the box led to the only goal of the game, sending Farmington to the title game as they continue their winning streak this week.

2:30 pm 3rd Place game
Carthage Tigers – 2
Parkview Vikings – 0
In the 43rd minute Matt Robinson took a pass from Joe Curti and scored the decisive goal. In the 57th Danny Welch collected a loose ball at the edge of the box and scored an insurance goal.

4:30 pm Title game
Neosho Wildcats – 0
Farmington Knights – 7

    Losers Bracket

Lebanon Yellowjackets – 2
West Plains Zizzers – 0

Fulton Hornets – 2
Kearney Bulldogs – 1

12:30 pm 5th place game
Fulton Hornets – 6
Lebanon Yellowjackets – 0

12:30 pm 7th place game
Kearney Bulldogs – 4
West Plains Zizzers – 0

Monett Cubs Tournament Report

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monettcubsGame 1:
Willard Tigers – 4
Carl Junction Bulldogs – 0

Game 2:
Monett Cubs – 10
Aurora Houn’Dawgs – 0

Game 3
Carl Junction Bulldogs – 7
Aurora Houn’Dawgs – 0

Game 4
Monett Cubs vs Willard Tigers – Rainout: Make-up day TBD
Winner will be Tournament Champs

SGFsoccer.com Tweets on 2009-09-19

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  • Nice story on the Roher twins at SBU, I featured Vanessa in a video interview last Saturday ~ http://bit.ly/zKJ53 #
  • Plaster Stadium lighting project will NOT be completed prior to the end of the soccer season which is Nov 4th, schedule changes TBA #
  • BIG! RT @drurypanthers: Drury sweeps Rockhurst in soccer in KC by identical 2-0 scores … No. 13 DU men now 7-0, 4-0, DU women 6-1 and 4-0. #
  • RT @LadyHawkSoccer: Quincy 3 Missouri S&T 0. Goals by Casey, Wingenbach, and Huelsing. #
  • Lady Bears tie SDSU at KU RT @MissouriStBears: Stellar Defense Earns a Third Straight Shutout for Bears http://bit.ly/6tPVf #
  • Hat trick for Bryce Collier as Roughriders win in KS RT @btsportzmom: Crowder College wins over MCC Blue River 3 to 1. #