Carthage Tigers – 0
At halftime, both teams have had one good opportunity with Carthage’s shot on goal stopped well by Wildcat GK Kelsay Leingang who got down fast in front of a ball headed for the corner. LogRog has had several opportunities in the box but the only shot went wide right past the upright.
The game went to PKs following a pair of scoreless OT periods that saw both keepers making important saves to keep the clean sheets, including the save by Leingang of LogRog who stopped the Tiger’s #12 who made a 40 yard run into the box before unleashing the close range shot that was pushed wide in the 2nd OT. The win goes to to the Wildcats as they open the season for the second straight year with a win in extra time over their COC foe.
UPDATE – From the Carthage Press: Rogers said Logan-Rogersville scored on two of its penalty kicks after the clock ran out while Carthage was unable to convert on any of its free chances.
UPDATE – Lebanon Yellowjackets vs Helias Crusaders – canceled due to field conditions, scheduled to be played April 30th now
Ozark Tigers – 1
Springfield Catholic – 0
The Tigers scored in the 17th minute tonight as freshman Morgan Davidson looped a ball to the far post, reminiscent of Clint Dempsey’s recent goal for Fulham. Not a bad introduction to the varsity for the Coach’s daughter as the Tigers held on to defeat the Irish.
The game went through several cycles with early pressure by Catholic until the Tigers began finding openings down the center of the field. Ozark was playing a 3-2-3-2 formation tonight, with Rachel Haden and Megan Stodden both positioned as defensive midfielders/stoppers in front of sweeper Megan Jenisch. The central midfield role was filled by Megan Davidson initially, or Megan Gunnels when she would move back from her front-runner position where she began with Alicia Collard. With Stodden or Haden making forward runs based upon conditions, the Tigers were able to get numbers in the middle while offering a stout defense against the Irish’s potent attack.
Hemphill was the busier keeper tonight and made several important saves, especially late as Catholic began to solve the defensive riddle they faced with the unusual formation. She pushed one shot up and over, followed that with a point blank save she pushed wide and finished with a little help from her outside defender, Keysha Burns, who cleared a shot that got past her keeper (see video below), all in the final 5 minutes of the game.
The Irish, with a pair of quality keepers, opened with Rachel Scott who was hamstrung by the early goal and came up big on a late opportunity that she parried and was cleared off the line by Carsen Baron, fresh from her basketball adventures (along with 4 other soccer teammates). Megan Goetzinger got help from her defense on one broken play and came up big on several late counter-attacks by the Tigers to keep the Irish close.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtW60PlmneU]
