State Quarterfinals are set and three area teams are pursuing a spot in the Final 4. Springfield Catholic looks to return for the sixth straight year in Class 1. They travel to Clinton for a game at 6:00 pm. In Class 2 Carl Junction hosts Helias for the second straight year. Game time is 4pm.
Locally, Nixa looks to return to State for the second straight year when they host Jefferson City at home, 1pm start.
The two teams faced off in the Quarterfinal in 2013 as well, a game won 3-1 by Nixa. A common foe this season is Kickapoo who fell to Jeff City 0-3 two weeks ago. The key player to watch for the Jay’s is central midfielder Sarah Luebbert, a sophomore who recently made a verbal commitment to Mizzou Soccer. She’s highly skilled and is also a tenaciousness tackler. I saw her win a ball in midfield, dribble past a pair of defenders and send a square ball through the box in the final minute of the Jays’ game against Incarnate Word for a 1-0 win over the traditional St Louis power. Nixa’s pace and broad scoring options should send them back to State but Jeff City can’t be underestimated. They’ve targeted this game from before the start of the season. Check the bio on their Twitter page if you need confirmation.
By the way, how do you like the photo above? It’s from 2009, the Grade 6-8 Nixa Summer Soccer Camp group photo. Three of the four seniors are pictured along with several other players on this years team. How’s that for building a team from the ground up? What other website in town can offer you that kind of background and cogent coverage? Keep up via Twitter
The Eagles celebrated a pair of significant marks this season. As noted earlier this week, Senior Payton DeHart became the Career scoring leader in goals with her two goals scored in the Sectional win over Kickapoo. She also holds the career mark for assists and total points, earned earlier this year. Details in my story earlier this week.
In addition, Congratulations to Coach Evan Palmer. The teams 19-3-1 record has pushed his Girls career record to 201-183-12. He earned his 400th overall win as a Coach during the Fall 2013 Boys season. His overall win total is somewhere around 425 now.
Finally, here’s a current picture of the Lady Eagles, following their District 11 title win. Good luck to all of the local teams Saturday!
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