Coach Owens will be leaving the Willard School District after 14 years and has accepted the position of assistant principal at Bolivar High School. With his departure, Willard High School Activities Director Jeff Staley has announced that the new coaching staff for Willard High School will be Tim Magee and Geoff Meiss. Coach Magee will be the head boy’s coach and Coach Meiss will be the head girl’s coach - each will assist the other.

Editor’s Note - Tim’s been with the team as long as I’ve been covering them and I believe may be a former Tiger himself. He is on the far left of the photo, wearing the white tshirt. Geoff spent at least one season working for Lindsay Paulsell at Marshfield in 2005. If memory serves, he moved to this area from a larger metropolitan area with soccer playing and coaching experience. Congrats to the Tigers!

Pritchard notches hat trick, Gold team gets tie by Logan Hoffman of the News-Leader (and Drury Panthers goal keeper)

Photo Gallery by Mark Schiefelbein for the News-Leader

Q&A: Tyler McElroy, Glendale Soccer by Michael Stacy, post-game.

Tying Times by Jeff Kessinger at the Christian County Headliner offers feedback and interviews with Ozark Tiger players Robbie Curtis and Jake Lumby. His co-worker Kyle Wilson covers the Girls game with Tying Times, while chatting with Erica Hogan from Ozark and Stephanie Allen from Nixa.

Bad weather good for Allen is TJ Brice’s contribution to the News-Leader coverage that evening, chatting with Stephanie Allen, Jacklyn Finley and Coach Evan Palmer from the Nixa Eagles. He covers the Boy’s game with Ozark duo plays last game together and his conversations with Ozark’s Robbie Curtis and Jake Lumby.

Pritchard tallies all 3 goals in All-Star tie by Dave Roberts at the Waynesville Daily Guide offers a game update

I’ll add more as I find them.

Also some articles leading up to the game:

On The Move Again by Kyle Wilson of the Christian County Headliner and Finley ready to take game to next level by Logan Hoffman of the News-Leader with stories about Jacklyn Finley of the Nixa Eagles

Hogan excited for final high school soccer game about Erica Hogan, Ozark Tigers, also by Logan Hoffman

Soccer All-Stars to compete in Springfield from the Cassville Democrat regarding goalie Anthony Larson and forward Ryan Schlichtman of the Cassville Wildcats

Area soccer standouts set to compete in Southwest Missouri All-Star Games about the Waynesville Tigers and Crocker Lions representing last night - Michael Davis from Waynesville and Nathan Rigsby from Crocker on the boys side, along with Katie Pritchard, Sade’ Boswell, Lauren Kelly, Tash Lord and Shanna Neeley from the Girls team at Waynesville.

Camdenton soccer all-stars take to the field Thursday from the Lake Sun Leader regarding Josh Baldwin and Nate Lipps as well as Blair Baker, Megan Manzer and Alisha “Girdy” Morice from the Girls team.

Falcon seniors dominate field in all-star soccer offers conversations with Lou Opfer and Justin Rogers of the Glendale Falcons in advance of the game.
Q&A: Patrick McCarthy, Glendale soccer prior to the game.

Chiefs to dominate all-stars offers interviews with Heath Melugin, Zack Hay and Jessica McCutcheon prior to the game.

I was asked by a reporter from the News-Leader about what the All-Star game represents for me. After spending a couple of hours digging through hundreds of photos, and posting 98 of them to my Flickr and SmugMug sites, I think I can distill it.

The players always exceed my expectations.

The All-Stars have led their teams. They’ve excelled on the larger stage as well, and when you bring them together their pride and their competitive spirit ensure that these games will allow them to thrive while also enjoying themselves. As one player noted, there is no pressure. But there is, the best kind though, the pressure they place on themselves. At the same time, they discover a new side of the players they’ve competed against, or read about, for the past four years because now they are teammates. Much like the journey many of them will make on college teams, or as college students, I’d like to believe this game is about their opportunity to prance, to display their spirit and their skills, and they always deliver. Thanks!

Here is a slideshow of my photos.

I’m going home to get some rest. I’ll be back tomorrow to point you to the professional writers who were out to cover the game. Enjoy.

Facebook photo album - Girls Game - and - Boys Game - tag yourself and become a fan of SGFsoccer.com.

Girls game at 6:00 pm
Boys game at 8:00 pm

First played in December 2004, the game is dedicated to recognizing High School seniors who have exhibited skill and leadership on the pitch. The players in that initial game, and subsequent, consider it a significant event in their High School playing career. We hope today’s players enjoy the same experience.

The All-Star rosters feature over 30 players headed for college careers following tonight’s game.
* Missouri State has signed three (Tara Bailes, Heath Melugin and Justin Scicluna - West Plains)
* Drury has signed a pair (Katy McLain, Kyler Temple) from Kickapoo.
* Missouri Southern has four (Brianna Ragains - Lebanon, Randi Russell & Stephanie Taylor - Joplin and Stuart Ziegler - West Plains)
* Missouri S&T has signed one (Zack Hay).
* Southwest Baptist has a pair headed to Bolivar (Natasha Lord - Waynesville, Blair Baker - Camdenton).

Chealsey Russell (Kickapoo) is headed for Rice (D1), although she is injured tonight
Katie Pritchard, who set a State career scoring record with 171 goals will play basketball for the Drury Panthers.

The Great Lakes Valley Conference is also represented by Anne Prenger (Catholic, UMSL) and Tyler McElroy heads for Rockhurst. The MIAA Conference has additional representation with Lou Opfer (Glendale/Truman State).

Robbie Curtis (Ozark/Springfield Demize) has signed to play for last year’s NCAA D2 finalists, Lincoln Memorial University.

There is a total of 15 players who were recognized at the All-State level as well, across all classes.

Dr Rusty Bond joins us from the Cox Health Athletic Advantage program. Check out the information on their services on the back cover of the program.

Thank you to Cox Health Athletic Advantage, Lake Country Soccer, J&K Soccer, The Copy Shoppe, Baywash Car Wash in Cassville as well as the Springfield Demize and Coester’s, for their support of the game and these players..

The event is organized jointly by SGFsoccer.com, Southwest Missouri’s soccer resource, and Springfield Soccer Club, home to over 20 teams including the two time State Champions and Regional Semi-Finalists, the U17 boys team.

For additional information, please contact:
Steve Ole Olson —– Jeremy Alumbaugh
SGFsoccer.com —– SpringfieldSportsClub.com

Led by its own No. 10 with a ponytail — Stiles’ jersey number and trademark at MSU — success didn’t come easy for Waynesville or Pritchard. But Pritchard’s facial expression rarely changed, regardless of the circumstances.

And here I thought the #10 was because of soccer but it was Stiles. Good luck at Drury Katie, see you Thursday for the All-Star game and your farewell to the worlds game

We’ve got a full day today folks.

Turn your radio on this morning, Thursday at 9:30am. Catch All-Stars organizer and Springfield SC Director of Coaching Jeremy Alumbaugh with All-Stars Katy McLain, Heath Melugin and Tara Bailes on JOCK 98.7, The Sports Reporters

In addition to watching the finest seniors in Southwest Missouri tonight, you can also catch the 1st Quarterfinal match of the European Championships today. Germany takes on Portugal at 1:45 pm, consider coming by Coester’s for a pre-game meal. Great soccer and the food is uniformly good.

The Girls game is at 6:00 pm.
The Boys game is at 8:00 pm.
Cooper Field #1 at Lake Country Soccer on Pythian Street in Springfield. Players need to register at the field 1.5 hours in advance of the game. Remember to bring your cleats, shin guards, white socks, black shorts, a water bottle and be prepared for the warm evening.

The lineups were announced earlier this week. Boys lineup. Girls lineup.

The Coaches for this evenings games include:
Girls Red: Jeff Rogers, Glendale Falcons and Evan Palmer, Nixa Eagles. The Falcons returned to the Quarterfinals this year for the first time since 2004. Evans working on replacing the Eagle’s top 2 career goal scorers on the girls team.
Girls Gold: Tom Davidson, Ozark Tigers and Ben Timson, Catholic Fightin’ Irish. The Tigers won their 1st ever large school District title this year while getting Tom his 500th win as a coach. The Irish made it to the Class 1 Quarterfinals yet again.

Boys Red: Eric Crain, New Covenant Academy and Mike Gow, Lebanon Yellowjackets. The Warriors earned their first District title in Fall 2007. Gow wraps up 12 years with the Yellowjackets this past Spring and heads for the sideline with the Waynesville Tigers in the Fall.
Boys Gold: Phil Hodge, Kickapoo Chiefs and Mike Howard, Rolla Bulldogs. The Chiefs were the #1 Public School boys team in 2007, taking 3rd place at the State Finals in Phil’s first season as head coach. Mike Howard earned his 500th win in the third game of the girls season.

Our Announcer this evening will be Bob Florez, who also handles the microphone for the Missouri State Bears men’s team. He’ll see two future Bears on the pitch this evening - Heath Melugin (Kickapoo) and Justin Scicluna (West Plains).

We will have Dr. Rusty Bond, a Cox Health sports medicine physician on the sidelines along with a trainer from the Athletic Advantage program at Cox. Dr Bond is part of the Southwest Spine and Sport office at Cox as well as the father of All-Star Jamie Bond (#4 on the Red squad). Thanks to Cox Health for their support of the players and this game.

Referee’s this evening include
Girls
Elizabeth Unruh - Referee
Andy Ellsworth - AR
Anthony Solari - AR

Boys
Trey Smith - Referee
Anthony Solari - AR
Todd McCutcheon - AR

Sponsors of this years event, in addition to Cox Health Athletic Advantage, include Lake Country Soccer, the Springfield Demize, Coesters Restaurant, The Copy Shoppe, J&K Soccer, Baywash Car Wash in Cassville as well as Rick & Tami Dorman and the Booster Clubs at Kickapoo, Glendale, Catholic and Ozark. Thanks as well to the Opfer family, including Scott, Tracy, Austin, Alix and Kasey; The Melugin family, including Phil, Kim, Megan and Miriam; and the Bailes family, including Scott, JoAnn, Allie and Mandy.

Superintendent Ron Lankford said the R-7 Board of Education voted June 10 not to add girls soccer and golf programs this fall based on his recommendation. Lankford said rising fuel costs make this a bad time to add programs that involve traveling to competitions.

Someone remind me again how many boys a high school football program will take to a road game weekly? I remember covering a Glendale Falcons game (my sister’s stepson was playing) and Joplin had 40+ JV players and an equal number of varsity players on the sideline.

You’ll get a final glimpse of Katie Pritchard, Class 2 career scoring leader, before she puts on her Converse and heads for the gym (they still wear Converse, right?) at Drury.

There are 18 All-State players participating in the game. There are over 30 players headed for college careers following tonight’s game. Missouri State has signed three (Tara Bailes, Heath Melugin and Justin Scicluna - West Plains) and Drury has signed a pair (Katy McLain, Kyler Temple) from Kickapoo.

Missouri Southern has four (Brianna Ragains, Randi Russell, Stephanie Taylor and Stuart Ziegler) while Missouri S&T has signed one (Zack Hay). Southwest Baptist has a pair headed to Bolivar (Natasha Lord, Blair Baker). Chealsey Russell is headed for Rice (D1) while Anne Prenger will be at UMSL (D2) and Lou Opfer at Truman State (D2) which means we’ll see them when they play Drury, MSSU or SBU.

There are 5 players who follow older siblings in representing their school at the All-Star game. Zack Hay’s older brother Nick played in the first game in December 2004, Ryan Schlichtman’s older brother Nick, now at Truman State, played in 2006. Tyler McElroy’s older sister Laura played last year, and was Freshman player of the Year for Grinnell this past season at GK. Carter McKay’s older brother Adam played in the first game in December 2004 and Erica Hogan’s older sister Melissa played last year (Ozark).

So there are plenty of great stories and it’s always a competitive game. Josh Scott coaches his final game before becoming AD at Waynesville, he’s joined by Mike Gow on the sideline. They’ll face off against Phil Hodge and Mike Howard in the boys game. Tom Davidson (Ozark) and Jeff Rogers (Glendale) face off for the hundredth time it seems as they will both patrol the sideline during the girls game, assisted by Ben Timson (Catholic) and Evan Palmer (Nixa). For Tom, it will be one last time to coach his former Kickapoo players.

We hope to see you at Cooper Soccer Complex at Lake Country Soccer in Springfield on Thursday evening. Girls play at 6:00 pm and Boys play at 8:00 pm. Represent!

All-Star game flyer

Coach of the Year, Large Schools - Pat Rocco, Hazelwood Central
Coach of the Year, Private Schools - Annie Beekman, Incarnate Word

First Team
GK - Claire Lovercheck 12 Hazelwood Central
D - Maggie Baumann 11 St. Joseph’s Academy
D - Drea Barklage 12 Incarnate Word
D - Amanda Teschner 12 Oakville
D - Jen Tucker, 11 - Incarnate Word
F - Blake Miller 12 Incarnate Word
F - Julie King 12 Nerinx Hall
F - Kelly Meusenfechter 12 Ft. Zumwalt North
F - Colleen Beck 11 Nerinx Hall
F - Jasmina Suljic 12 Oakville
F - Morgan Marlborough 11 Lee’s Summit North
F - Megan Kelley 10 St. Teresa’s Academy
F - Shea Groom 9 Liberty
F - Bobbi Jo Schlick 11 Jackson
MF - Lorin Opfer 12 Glendale
MF - Bridget Lohmuller 12 St. Joseph’s Academy
MF - Katelyn Frederickson 11 Nerinx Hall
MF - Molly Campbell 12 St. Teresa’s Academy
MF - Lizzy Simonin 12 Lee’s Summit
MF - Kasey Clark 9 Liberty
MF - Ellen Jantsch 12 St. Teresa’s Academy
MF - Nikki Rivera 12 Lafayette

Second Team
GK - Mary Warwick 10 St. Teresa’s Academy
GK - Mariah McClain 11 Jefferson City
GK - Maggie Bowman 12 St. Joseph’s Academy
D - Curtney Danze 12 Liberty
D - Jacque Dedovesh 12 Lee’s Summit West
D - Audrey Copenhaver 12 St. Teresa’s Academy
D - Chelsea Dale 12 Jackson
D - Marisa Rapp 12 Howell North
D - Taylor Thomas 12 Rockwood Summit
D - Danielle Bergfeld 11 Hazelwood Central
D - Kelsey Calvert 11 Lafayette
F - Sharaya Sidebottom 12 Blue Springs South
F - Katie Pritchard 12 Waynesville
F - Jessica Greer 11 Smith-Cotton
F - Rachel King 12 Ft. Zumwalt West
F - Becky Handley 11 St. Joseph’s Academy
MF - Kaitlin Bramel 12 Rolla
MF - Mandy Laddish 10 Lee’s Summit
MF - Lauren Drewett 12 Jackson
MF - Allie Brazill 12 Incarnate Word
MF - Bridget Belli 12 Hazelwood West
MF - Ariel Boulicault 11 Pattonville
MF - Korie Klosterman 11 Lafayette

Third Team
GK - Caroline Stanley 9 Lee’s Summit North
GK - Katie Gallagher 12 Howell North
GK - Paige Hemphill 10 Ozark
D - Emily Downing 11 Jefferson City
D - Kaitlyn Nevels 10 Hazelwood Central
F - Brooke Williams 10 Liberty
F - Casey Vitale 10 Pattonville
MF - Katy McClain 12 Kickapoo
MF - Megan Buri 12 Park Hill South
MF - Caroline Gray 9 St. Teresa’s Academy
MF - Jenni Tenholder 12 Jackson High School
MF - Nikki Hoss 12 Ft. Zumwalt West

Final Rankings
1 - Incarnate Word, 20-2-1
2 - St. Joe’s Academy, 20-3-1
3 - St. Teresa’s, 23-3
4 - Nerinx Hall, 21-4-1
5 - Lafayette, 19-1
6 - Liberty, 22-2
7 - Hazelwood Central, 17-11-1
8 - Howell North, 19-5
9 - Lee’s Summit, 22-2-1
10 - Jackson, 18-3
11 - Truman, 22-4
12 - Lee’s Summit North, 18-4
13 - Lindbergh, 18-5
14 - Glendale, 20-6
15 - Ft. Zumwalt West, 13-12

Coach of the Year, Private Schools - Matt Darby, Notre Dame de Sion
Coach of the Year, Public Schools - Jamie Waddell, Platte County

First Team
GK - Tori Champaign, 11 - Duchesne
GK - Melissa Pacheco, 12 - Notre Dame de Sion
D - Allison Hu, 11 - Duchesne
D - Sam Andert, 11 -St. Dominic
D - Katie Murphy, 11 - Notre Dame de Sion
D - Anne Prenger, 12 - Springfield Catholic
D - Dana Wilhelm, 10 - Notre Dame (STL)
F - Signe Novak 10 St. Dominic
F - Maura McKernan 12 Visitation
F - Erin Kilian 12 Kennedy
F - Caffrey Brooks 10 Pembroke Hill
F - Mindy Siebert 11 Notre Dame-Cape
F - Jordi Ferrell 12 Sikeston
F - Kendra Schilli 12 Perryville
MF - Ali Bauer 11 St. Dominic
MF - Alli Reimer 11 Duchesne
MF - Megan Fitzsimmons 10 DuBourg
MF - Kelsey Finders 12 St. Charles West
MF - Shawn Beard 11 Moberly
MF - Kaylee Smith 11 Platte County
MF - Jessie Johnson 10 Smithville
MF - Alli Dandurand 12 Notre Dame de Sion
MF - Tara Bailes, 12 - Springfield Catholic
MF - Michelle Auer, 9 - Notre Dame (STL)

Second Team
GK - Kristen Starkey, 11 -St. Dominic
D - Sarah Hotop 12 - Mexico
D - Cacy Williams 9 Platte County
D - Haley Fritzlen 9 Notre Dame de Sion
D - Kayla Polette 10 DuBourg
D - Jordan Jennings 10 Orchard Farm
F - Tanner Brown 10 Kearney
F - Mallory Craig 11 Smithville
F - Carrie Stone 11 St. Pius-Festus
F - Anna DeLong, 11 - Springfield Catholic
F - Emma Walker 11 Duchesne
F -Courtney Young 9 Visitation
F - Robyn Meesey 11 Notre Dame (STL)
MF - Tillie Bill 10 Southern Boone
MF - Alex Olson 10 Smithville
MF - Kathryn Robards 12 Notre Dame de Sion
MF - Brenna Lacaillade 10 Warrensburg
MF - Jewel Kawamoto 11 Barstow
MF - Morgan Milfeld 12 DeSoto
MF - Maggie Kistner 12 Burroughs
MF - Alicia Vonderheid 11 Trinity
MF - Elise Rirey 12 Villa Duchesne

Third Team
D - Shannon Dickerson 11 Moberly
D - Kate Flinn 11 Kearney
D - Tamara Cooks 11 Warrensburg
D - Alex Fowler 11 Notre Dame-Cape
D - Linsay Pape 12 St. Charles West
D - Ellie Bumb 9 Visitation
F - Whitney Smith 10 Platte County
F - Madde Adkins 11 Notre Dame de Sion
F - Courtney Besand 11 St. Vincent
F - Jonna Welch, 9 - Bolivar
F - Deanna Krentz 12 DuBourg
F - Becky Esrock 12 Whitfield
F - Christie Moreland 12 Villa Duchesne
MF - Chelsea Reutenaur 11 Hannibal
MF - Mallory Stipetich 12 St. Pius X (KC)
MF - Patsy Middleton, 12 - Willard
MF - Christina Reddan 12 Trinity
MF - Elle Kekec 10 Ladue
MF - Mackenzie Barringhaus 9 Visitation
MF - Kim McCune 12 Kennedy
MF - Katie Aubuchon 10 Affton
MF - Emily McMeekin 11 Barstow
MF - Kelsey McClellan 11 Pembroke Hill

Final Rankings
1 - Notre Dame de Sion, 16-7-1
2 - Notre Dame STL, 18-10-1
3 - St. Dominic, 22-6
4 - Duchesne, 18-6
5 - Platte County, 25-5
6 - Springfield Catholic, 19-6-2
7 - Visitation, 16-10
8 - Smithville, 20-5
9 - Westminster, 14-5
10 - Perryville, 16-6
11 - St. Charles West, 13-6
12 - Cape Notre Dame, 17-3
13 - John F. Kennedy, 12-6
14 - Bishop DuBourg, 13-12-1
15 - Villa Duchesne, 9-7

If your team isn’t represented or there are updated numbers, send the information to me

Assists Player Class School
19 - Tara Bailes, Sr, Catholic Fightin’ Irish
17 - Natasha Lord, Sr, Waynesville Tigers
14 - Latea Larue, So, Camdenton Lakers
14 - Megan Gunnels, So, Ozark Tigers
14 - Brianna Ragains, Sr, Lebanon Yellowjackets
13 - Shelby Hatz, Fr, Catholic Fightin’ Irish
13 - Ashley Kerr, Jr, Rolla Bulldogs
12 - Jeni Frewin Jr Glendale Falcons
11 - Megan Manzer Sr Camdenton Lakers
11 - Katy McLain Sr Kickapoo Chiefs
11 - Jaclyn Standfast So Rolla Bulldogs
10 - Blair Baker Sr Camdenton Lakers
10 - Natalie Smid Fr Catholic Fightin’ Irish
10 - Emily Cline Fr Glendale Falcons
9 - Becca Carter Sr Central Bulldogs
8 - Sarah Hoover Sr Central Bulldogs
8 - Lorin Opfer Sr Glendale Falcons
8 - Katie Pritchard Sr Waynesville Tigers
7 - Alicia Collard So Ozark Tigers
7 - Erica Hogan Sr Ozark Tigers
7 - Kim Carter Rolla Bulldogs
7 - Erica Combs Jr Waynesville Tigers
6 - Mollie Plocher Jr West Plains Zizzers
6 - Shelby Stewart So Parkview Vikings
5 - Lindsy Archer Sr Bolivar Liberators
5 - Jordan Halbrook Jr Bolivar Liberators
5 - Izzy Mersch Fr Bolivar Liberators
5 - Amanda Dominguez, Jr, Kickapoo Chiefs
4 - Jacklyn Finley, Sr, Nixa Eagles
4 - Lauren Hillmer, Sr, Nixa Eagles
4 - Melanie Allen So Parkview Vikings
4 - Kelsey Loderhose Fr Parkview Vikings

Points Player Class School
86 Katie Pritchard Sr Waynesville Tigers
57 Tara Bailes Sr Catholic Fightin’ Irish
55 Megan Manzer Sr Camdenton Lakers
55 Shelby Hatz Fr Catholic Fightin’ Irish
54 Emily Cline Fr Glendale Falcons
46 Megan Gunnels So Ozark Tigers
43 Lindsey Sprouse So Glendale Falcons
43 Jaclyn Standfast So Rolla Bulldogs
41 Alicia Collard So Ozark Tigers
40 Olivia Cox So Rolla Bulldogs
39 Anna Delong Jr Catholic Fightin’ Irish
38 Jonna Welch Fr Bolivar Liberators
37 Ashley Kerr Rolla Bulldogs
37 Erica Combs Jr Waynesville Tigers
36 - Erin Boschen, Jr, Hillcrest Hornets
35 Stephanie Kirvan Jr Camdenton Lakers
35 Natasha Lord Sr Waynesville Tigers
34 Lorin Opfer Sr Glendale Falcons
33 Lindsy Archer Sr Bolivar Liberators
33 Becca Carter Sr Central Bulldogs
31 Stephanie Allen Sr Nixa Eagles
30 Sarah Hoover Sr Central Bulldogs
29 Katy McLain Sr Kickapoo Chiefs
29 - Jessica Maerz So Parkview Vikings
27 Erica Hogan Sr Ozark Tigers
26 Latea Larue So Camdenton Lakers
25 - Emmy Dale Sr Parkview Vikings
24 Michelle Esterle Jr West Plains Zizzers
24 - Kelsey Loderhose Fr Parkview Vikings
24 - Shelby Stewart So Parkview Vikings
19 Jordan Halbrook Jr Bolivar Liberators
16 - Sara Rodriguez, Jr, Hillcrest Hornets
15 - Kelsey Haist, Fr, Nixa Eagles

If your team isn’t represented or there are updated numbers, send the information to me