Meet The Kewpies
November 11, 2009 by Ole · Leave a Comment
Kickapoo Chiefs, Sectional Champions
The two teams faced each other October 16th (during the rainy season) when the Chiefs began their 11-1 run that included the 3 games that led to their Kickapoo Shootout title. The first game on the road following the Shootout was against Hickman on Saturday morning, followed by a loss to Columbia Rock Bridge that afternoon, the only blemish since early October.
Did you catch the highlights of the game on TV last night? Here you go
As the KSPR website notes “And after the match, one senior guaranteed a victory on Saturday over Hickman.”
The problem, as noted in the is this article early Tuesday in the Columbia Daily Tribune Confident Kewpies get rematch, in advance of last nights Sectional game:
Two weeks ago, Hickman hosted a Camdenton soccer team with just two losses. That night, the Lakers handed the Kewpies their eighth loss of the season, situating Hickman just one game above .500 entering the district tournament.
“We are a completely different team,” Head Coach Adam Taylor said. “We’ll be ready to go … I promise you that.”
As the Columbia Missourian notes in their post-Sectional game article Hickman boys soccer team wins sectional
Tuesday’s game wasn’t the first time the Kewpies faced the Lakers in overtime. In the last game of the regular season, Hickman was tied at 1 with Camdenton before falling in penalty kicks. The loss spurred a running joke that has lasted through the Kewpies’ playoff run: “End teams’ seasons.” What started as a joke has turned into a goal, according to senior forward George Plakorus.
“We just want to send ‘em home,” Plakorus said. “We like being able to continue practicing while they are sitting at home.”
During the postseason, beating teams that have previously defeated the Kewpies in the regular season has become a trend. All five opponents the Kewpies faced thus far in the postseason had won regular season games against Hickman.
Here’s a video from KOMU with game highlights and a description of the scoring:
The Kewpies struck first in the 25th minute when Brian Willcox crossed the ball from the left side to Alex Holliday who was standing in the box ready to put it in. Despite carrying the 1-0 lead deep into the second half, the Kewpies style of play was noticeably different.
“We played a little too cautious in the second half and quit playing possession soccer,” Kewpies coach Adam Taylor said. “I don’t’ know where that came from, but we kind of played to protect the lead in the second half and it came back to bite us in the butt.”
The bite came in the 69th minute when Camdenton senior Jeff Dorhauer slipped through the defense and tied it up. Camdenton’s goal was the first allowed by the Kewpies this postseason.
“I told these guys at practice this week there was going to come a time when somebody is going to score on you in this tournament, and you are going to have to handle some adversity, and we did that tonight,” Taylor said.
Plakorus scored the winning goal just 3:30 into the first 15-minute overtime period after making a cut to the box and sending the ball to the far post.
So what we’ve got is a pair of teams who have turned it around 180 degrees from their early season results, both confident in their ability to continue the winning streak. I read a quote in ESPN today talking about the NCAA Women’s Division 1 prediction that I quoted when asked by a local TV sports anchor about my thoughts on the game – When in doubt, take the team with the best player.
