Monthly Archives: April 2010

KC Wizards Face Houston Saturday – Live on Fox Soccer

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Jack Jewsbury vs NE Revolution, 2009

Jack Jewsbury vs NE Revolution, 2009

The Kansas City Wizards (2-1-1, tied for second place in Eastern Conference) travel to Houston to face the Dynamo (2-2-1, fourth place in Western Conference) on Saturday. Game time is 7:30 pm and as noted, it’s being broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel.

Houston attempts to rebound from a bad loss to Chicago in which they lost midfielder Geoff Cameron for the season. The Dynamo’s makeshift lineup will attempt to combat one of the hottest teams in MLS, while Kansas City will hope a road victory against a veteran Houston squad will help position them one of the teams to beat in MLS.

On Oct. 4 of last season, both sides needed a win as Houston wanted to earn home-field advantage for the playoffs, while Kansas City was still fighting for the last playoff spot. An early red card by Cam Weaver left the Dynamo short-handed for most of the match, but Luis Angel Landin scored his only goal thus far in MLS, and Houston held the lead until the 73rd minute. However, the Wizards’ Zoltan scored a beautiful goal from a long ball played over the top of the Dynamo defense, and as a result the match ended in a disappointing draw for both teams.

Friday Girls Soccer

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Kelsey Haist, Nixa (2011) in front of McKenna Adams, April 2010

Kelsey Haist, Nixa (2011) in front of McKenna Adams, April 2010

Waynesville Tigers – 0
Nixa Eagles – 1
Nixa continues their recent winning streak, getting a goal from junior midfielder Kelsey Haist for the win. Assist from Jordyn Hoskins, the Eagles record is now 12-4.

Branson Pirates -
Carl Junction Bulldogs -

Greenwood Blue Jays -
Neosho Wildcats -

Lebanon Yellowjackets -
Jeff City Helias Crusaders –

Drury Panthers Alumni Game Saturday

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Steve WilczewskiThe Panther’s mens team will wrap up their Spring season with alumni functions, including a game, on Saturday. It will be your last chance to see Glendale product Steve Wilczewski in a Panther’s uniform, even a competitive match if he’s able to walk away from the game as he noted the other evening at Lake Country Soccer. He’ll be joined by seniors Jake Allison, Andrew Bordelon and Ben Nabers in their final college game. Bordelon returns in the Fall as Head Coach Ryan Swan’s new Graduate Assistant.

Here are a couple of videos for you.

Steve Wilczewski scoring against Kickapoo during the Fall of 2004 when he was a junior.

Here’s an early Drury game, from August 2005 against Missouri Southern. I wonder how many of those boys we’ll see?

2010 Willard Invitational Girl’s Soccer Tournament

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Rebekah Mann, Willard (2010)

Rebekah Mann, Willard (2010)

The 2010 Willard Invitational Girl’s Soccer Tournament opens today and continues Saturday. The Tournament will only include 5 teams this year as the Joplin McAuley girls attempt to recuperate after playing with only 9 players the past two weeks, causing them to miss this years tournament.

The five teams include three teams from Class 3, District 12 in Hillcrest, Central and the host Tigers as well as a pair of Class 2 District 5 foes, Bolivar and Marshfield, recently ranked 2nd and 5th in the District. This is a favorite tournament for me, always competitive and with great weather generally *crosses fingers*.

Friday, April 30th
Hillcrest Hornets – 0
Central Bulldogs – 5
Hillcrest was unable to break down the Bulldogs with a squad missing 5 seniors due to prom

Bolivar Liberators – 5
Marshfield Blue Jays – 0
The Liberator’s earned their third win of the season over the Blue Jays, going up by 3 in the first half when Jonna Welch buried her shot from the left side in stoppage. Bolivar added a fourth goal by Izzy Mersch who’s shot from outside the box got past the keeper to the far side netting and the final goal was a PK by freshman Abbi Porter who buried it confidently. Photos available below.

Willard Tigers – 1
Central Bulldogs – 0
Photos available here.

Hillcrest Hornets – 0
Marshfield Blue Jays – 4

Saturday, May 1st
9:00 am Bolivar vs Willard
10:45 am Marshfield vs Central
12:30 pm Sat 10:45 am winner vs Sat 9am loser
3:00 pm Sat 9am winner vs Sat 12:30 pm winner

Games will be two 35-minute halves with a 10-minute half time.

If the score is tied at the end of regulation, there will be NO overtime. Teams will go directly to penalty kicks. For the championship game, two, ten-minute overtimes and a traditional penalty kick procedure will be implemented to determine the Championship Game winner if necessary.

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Ozark Tigers At Adida’s Tournament of Champions

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tournament of champions 2010 logo2010 Adidas Girl’s Soccer Tournament of Champions is being held this weekend in Burlington, Iowa. Thirty-two high school girl’s soccer programs from the Midwest will participate in the event, the 4th annual. The participants come from the states of Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The list of participants include the Ozark Tigers, part of their highly competitive schedule this season for the senior laden squad. Their tournament will include three games, shown below:

Fri 12:00 noon Ozark vs Rockwood Summit (#13 ranked in MO)

UPDATE – Tigers tie Rockwood SUmmit 1-1

Sat 9:45 am Ozark vs Pattonville or Glenbrook North (Chicago)
Sat 3:30 pm Ozark vs TBD

Participants include nationally ranked #12 St. Charles North (St. Charles, IL.), #29 Ankeny High (Ankeny, IA.), #31 Glenbrook South (Glenview, IL.), #32 St. Thomas Aquinas (Overland Park, KS.), #39 Liberty High (Liberty, MO.), and #45 Homewood-Flossmoor (Flossmoor, IL.).

The games will take place at the Burlington Regional RecPlex. The tournament brackets and additional information about the participants and tournament can be found at www.tournamentofchampionsonline.com.

Ozark Conference Girls Soccer – Parkview Remains Undefeated

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Kaylee Stephens (2011) battles Anna Withers (2011)

Kaylee Stephens (2011) battles Anna Withers (2011)

Kickapoo Chiefs – 1
Parkview Vikings – 2 (2nd OT)
In a game that probably sealed Parkviews position not only at the top of the Ozark Conference (now 6-0) but also a Top 2 seed within Class 3 District 11, the Vikings defense continued to flex but not break while the offense came through in the clutch. Parkview opened the scoring in the 27th minute as front runners Kelsey Loderhose and Shelby Stewart combined, with Stewarts ball into the box deflecting off a defender and falling to Loderhose who confidently buried her shot past a diving keeper. It came after the Chief’s opened play with three straight corner kicks and early pressure before Parkview offered a little bump and grind of their own with Loderhose putting a ball off the crossbar in the 5th minute.

The Vikings came out a bit too relaxed in the second half, apparently content to try and defend their slight margin. The Chief’s were having none of it and attacked regularly and it was only quality work from senior Caylin Manary who kept them close. A hard shot to the lower corner was pushed just wide while Lauren Rowland’s shot from the right deflected off the upright. Rowland, Rachel McIntyrre and Casey Weitzel pushed hard into the Parkview defensive end, taking advantage of the space provided to them as the Viking’s concentrated on McKenna Adams. It was Adams who tied the game in the 76th when senior Megan Melugin’s simple flick header sent her in on a breakaway past the defense. Running into the box while protecting the ball from a late challenge, Adams was able to slip the ball just inside the upright and past the keeper (video below) in the 76th minute. The Chief’s had one final shot in regulation that Manary was able to tip over the crossbar to get the Vikings to OT.

Both teams created opportunities in the overtime periods but it was the Viking forwards who got the game winner. Stewart ran to a ball that was bouncing between a pair of players at midfield and using her body, advanced the ball and broke down the right side. As the defense collapsed on her, she slipped a through ball to Loderhose who ran onto the ball and slipped it up and over the on-rushing keeper (Danzer, only her second game back from a concussion against Nixa two weeks ago) and kept it on frame to scored her second of the day for the big win.

With the Class 3 District 11 seeding meeting scheduled for next Wednesday, only Tuesday’s Ozark vs Nixa derby remains to be played and have an effect on seeding. Parkview will host Ozark Friday May 7th while Glendale will host Kickapoo May 12th in key games that remain. Here’s one more video, of what it can be like when Shelby Stewart is running at a defense. Enjoy!

By the way, I’d like to thank the Chief’s Booster Club for their hospitality tonight. Dinner was excellent. Thank you.

Joplin Eagles – 0
Rolla Bulldogs – 5

Camdenton Lakers – 2
Lebanon Yellowjackets – 1
Camdenton goals by Chelsi Libby and Mackenzie Manzer; Lebanon goal by Emilee Starnes.

West Plains Zizzers – 2
Hillcrest Hornets – 0

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Thursday Girls Soccer

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Natalie Smid, Catholic (2011) game winner by Amy Schepers

Natalie Smid, Catholic (2011) game winner by Amy Schepers

Springfield Catholic – 1
Nixa Eagles – 0
Irish goal in the 75th minute. Natalie Smid headed in an Erin FitzGerald corner kick to give Catholic the win in a very spirited and competitive soccer match. Nixa is now 11-4.

Logan-Rogersville Wildcats – 2
Greenwood Blue Jays – 4
A game that was only 1-1 at halftime and 2-2 early in the second half, saw Greenwood finally wear down the hosts with ball control and a pair of late goals.

Central Bulldogs -
Carthage Tigers -

Champions League Final May 22nd

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Champions League Final is May22ndWell, I’d say the 2nd leg games were only enjoyable for the fans of the winning teams as Lyon were smacked by Bayern and the Inter vs Barcelona was a less than pretty game as the Italians played defense defending their away goal advantage.

We now know two of Europe’s most storied clubs will meet in the Champions League final on May 22 in Madrid (1:30 p.m. CT on FOX27) as Germany’s Bayern Munich faces off against Italy’s Inter Milan. Here is Jamie Trecker’s commentary

Inter booked its place in the finals by ousting defending champions Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate after a tense encounter at Camp Nou that saw midfielder Thiago Motta ejected en route to a 1-0 loss. Bayern brushed aside France’s Olympique Lyonnais 4-0 on aggregate, with striker Ivica Olic collecting a hat trick on Tuesday to seal their progress.

OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE

The matchup will pit what is arguably Europe’s most feared attacking trident against the continent’s stoutest defense in a competition that usually rewards conservative tactics. At Camp Nou on Wednesday, Inter demonstrated their twist on the classically Italian defensive style of football, catenaccio, by blunting Barcelona’s attack for a full 84 minutes. Such defensive steadiness and organization is the stylistic hallmark of Mourinho, who led Porto to unlikely European glory in 2003-04 and helped establish Chelsea as an English powerhouse.

Bayern, led by Dutch winger Arjen Robben, boasts an explosive attack. Against Lyon, they were smothering, keeping their front line so high that the French midfielders couldn’t even get a shot on Hans-Joerg Butt’s goal. But Bayern will have to win in Madrid without star midfielder Franck Ribery, who was banned for three games this week by UEFA after a vicious tackle on Lyon’s Lisandro in the first leg of the semifinals.

The next order of business is finding a place to enjoy the game. We had 75 people at Coester’s two years ago and 50 at Magoo’s last year. Magoo’s didn’t show their gratitude for the business in any way so I haven’t been back since. The primary conflict we’ll have that day is the Cardinal’s game starts at 1:15 pm so a direct conflict.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Missouri Girls Soccer – Class 2 District 5 Seeding Released

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Harrisonville Wildcats

Harrisonville Wildcats

Class 2 District 5 is made up of nine teams split between the Southern Kansas City area and Southwest Missouri. Seeding for this year’s District Tournament has been released:

1. Harrisonville (11-2)
2. Bolivar (8-3)
3. Warrensburg (8-5)
4. West Plains (5-9)
5. Marshfield (7-9-1)
6. Logan-Rogersville (6-10-2)
7. Carl Junction (2-11)
8. Clinton (4-8)
9. Ruskin (0-12)

All Games will be played at Bolivar

Friday, May 14
Clinton vs Ruskin

Saturday, May 15
9am – #2 Bolivar vs #7 Carl Junction
11am – #3 Warrensburg vs #6 Logan-Rogersville
1pm – #4 West Plains vs #5 Marshfield
3pm – #1 Harrisonville vs Clinton/Ruskin Winner

Monday, May 17
4:30pm – Harrisonville/Clinton/Ruskin Winner vs West Plains/Marshfield Winner
6:30pm – Bolivar/Carl Junction Winner vs Warrensburg/Logan-Rogersville Winner

Wednesday, May 19
6:00pm – Final

The photo was ripped off from the Harrisonville Wildcats blog maintained by ORF, a regular contributor to this website.

Winter’s Bone Premieres May 14th In Springfield

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A bit off-topic but give me a few minutes on this one…

The 2010 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning film, Winter’s Bone, will screen in Springfield on May 14th at Missouri State University. The film, based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell (West Plains), was shot completely on location in Taney County in 2009 and included a large number of local actors and crew. Directed by Debra Granik (DOWN TO THE BONE) and adapted for the screen by Granik and Anne Rosellini, the film also won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance.

The film is receiving rave reviews on the Film Festival circuit. The Producers are showing it in Springfield before it is released in general distribution later this summer. All proceeds from the screening will be donated to the Missouri Film Alliance (I am the President of the organization) and a regional Methadone Recovery Clinic. Your attendance will thus support independent filmmaking in the region as well as supporting children impacted by drug and child abuse.

SCREENING INFO: “Winter’s Bone”, Springfield Premiere
When: Friday, May 14th from 7-10 p.m.
Where: Missouri State University in the Plaster Student Union Theatre
Movie Info: Drama, rated R for some drug material, language and violent content
Running time: 100 minutes

Program: Two local musical groups who are featured in the film, Marideth Sisco’s band and White River Music Company, will play at 7 p.m. The film will screen at 8 p.m. There will be a short interview and question/answer session with the film director, Debora Granik, following the screening.

Costs: $15 general admission, $10 for college students with i.d.’s.

Ticket Info: Tickets can be purchased or picked up at the Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, the JQH Arena, or the Plaster Student Union ticket offices. Tickets can also be purchased by telephone or on the internet through MSU TIX – http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=3371&schedule=list

SPONSORS: The event is being sponsored by Ozark Community Hospital and the Missouri State University Film Series with support from the Office of the Provost, the College of Arts and Letters, and the Department of Media, Journalism and Film.

Parking: public parking will be available in the Park & Ride garage near the Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, in Lot 14 located on the southwest corner of Grand and National, or in Lot 13 located off National and Monroe will also be open.

PROCEEDS: Box office proceeds will be donated to the Missouri Film Alliance of Springfield, and a local Methamphetamine Recovery Program.

Check out the Winter’s Bone Production Page on the MFAS website that includes the complete list of Crew and Actors who participated in the making of the film.

Synopsis: 17 year-old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) sets out to track down her father, who put their house up for his bail bond and then disappeared. If she fails, Ree and her family will be turned out into the Ozark woods. Challenging her outlaw kin’s code of silence and risking her life, Ree hacks through the lies, evasions and threats offered up by her relatives and begins to piece together the truth.