Tag Archives: Lou Opfer

Glendale Falcons And Springfield Catholic Advance To Quarterfinal Round

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Glendale Falcons vs Ozark Tigers, Sectional Playoff

Glendale Falcons – 5
Ozark Tigers – 0
The game opened today in front of a large crowd, happy to be in the sunshine, evenly split between fans of the traditional power and the new upstart coached by a regional icon. With the wind at their back, and memories of their 0-3 loss April 25th in the back of their minds, the Tigers attempted to reach new heights yet again in this season of success. The Falcon’s, led by their six senior All-Stars, could have been tempted to consider the graduation ceremonies beckoning them later this evening.

It was all business for the seniors. Moments after the Tigers had their first successful foray into the Glendale box, the Falcon’s made their opponent pay for pushing up. It started in a familiar way, with senior Lou Opfer successfully collecting a pass at midfield and holding it against strong pressure. This allowed freshman Emily Cline to begin her run up the left side with Opfer sending a through ball that led her perfectly. Cline was able to beat her defender and turn towards goal where she threaded a ball between the goalkeeper and an onrushing defender for what turned out to be the game-winner in the 8th minute.

In the 10th minute, a set piece led to another goal for the Falcons, once again from Cline. Sophomore Emilee Williams put a ball up and just over the defensive line at the top of the box. It appeared the defense lost sight of the ball which allowed Cline to pounce on it and push it to the right side, where it bounced in off of the upright. Cline scored a third in the 21st minute, taking a ball from the left side and after a collision with the final defender, suddenly found herself going in on goal unmarked where she buried it reliably. Lindsey Sprouse completed the scoring in the first half in the 30th minute when in a repeat of Cline’s first effort, she was able to run into the box and as she moved from left to right, turned on the ball and buried it to the left side. The final goal was the prettiest, as Williams sent a cross from the left side into the box. Cline climbed high and headed the ball back to the far post, sealing the win and sending the Falcon’s to their first Quarterfinal since 2004.

The Falcons will play in the Quarterfinals on Saturday May 24th at 2:00 pm at Missouri Science & Technology’s campus in Rolla, MO. The opponent is Incarnate Word Academy, 3-0 winners over the Jefferson City Jays this evening. There’s a nice article on their center back Drea Barklage, a teammate of Chealsey Russell’s on the St Louis SC U15 National Champions from 2005. That list (IWA, STL SC) includes Blake Miller who has 8 game-winning goals for the Red Raiders. And you’ve probably heard, they are ranked #2 in the US by at least one poll.

BTW, congratulations to the graduating seniors and Happy Birthday to Karis!

Springfield Catholic – 4
St James Tigers – 0
The Irish faced off for the second straight year against St James in their quest to return to the Final 4. The Tigers had a year to prepare for this match and the defensive barriers held until the 23rd minute when freshman Shelby Hatz got the first of her two goals. Anna Delong would score in the 28th, Hatz would get her second before the half and junior Maddy Renner continued her recent scoring string with the final goal in the second half.

The Irish will play Saturday May 24th at 11:00 am at Columbia Hickman High School. The opponent is St Dominic’s, 5-0 winners over Hannibal this evening. This will be a rematch of last year when the Irish lost to the ultimate State Champions 3-0. St Dom is currently the 2nd ranked small school in the St Louis Metro area.

Tuesday’s Ozark Conference Game Reports

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Glendale Falcons vs West Plains ZizzersGlendale Falcons – 6
West Plains Zizzers – 0
The game was moved to JFK Stadium on Tuesday and once the Falcon’s adjusted to the roll of the ball on the artificial surface, it was off to the races. The overarching feeling I come away with after Glendale games is the sense of overall team speed. Without the added burden of running on soft soil, the girls displayed it in full last night as they earned the shutout over their Conference opponent. The first goal was scored from the corner kick as Lou Opfer skied to head it in. Freshman Emily Cline scored in her third straight game with a 20 yard blast from the right side. It was only through yeoman’s effort that senior goal keeper Jamie Brassfield and her defense kept the score to 2-0 in the first half with a dozen opportunities blunted.

Glendale and Kickapoo play tonight, both coming off of their best offensive display of the early season. Scoring was one area I didn’t think either team would have any difficulties although the early season put a lie to that thought. We’ll see how both teams react tonight to their unexpected positions in the middle of the Conference table. At the top of the table are the Waynesville Tigers.

Waynesville Tigers – 3
Camdenton Lakers – 1
Senior Katie Pritchard scored in the 32nd minute on a header from a ball sent into the box by Tasha Lord from the right touch line. The score remained 1-0 deep into the second half before junior Erica Combs headed Lord’s service, this time from a set piece near the right touchline. Lord got into the scoring side of things for the Tiger’s third goal, assist going to Pritchard. The Lady Lakers finally answered with 10 minutes left in the match when senior Blaire Baker played a direct kick from just outside the left side of the penalty box that went over the hands of the Lady Tiger’s goalie.

Waynesville improves to 6-0-0 on the season and 3-0 in Ozark Conference play while the Lakers stand at 3-2-0 overall, 1-1 in the Conference

Additional College Soccer Signings Announced in Southwest Missouri

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There is a lot of good news coming out of our area High Schools this Spring regarding players who will be playing soccer in college. My goal is to have a personal interview with each of the players that I am aware of so that we can all learn more about the recruiting process. If we’ve chatted but haven’t completed the process, I apologize. If we haven’t talked yet, feel free to reach out to me so that we can begin the process.

In the meantime, here’s the latest update:

Ozark Tigers Signing CeremonyThe Ozark Tigers had a ceremony Wednesday announcing:
Robbie Curtis to Lincoln Memorial University (D2 National Finals last year)
Josh Maloney to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NAIA)
Nick Robinson to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NAIA)
Seated: Robbie Curtis, Nick Robinson and Josh Maloney.
Standing: Coach Tom Davidson OHS Soccer and Coach John Parrigon, NEO A&M.
Photo provided by the Tigers.

The Glendale Falcons also had a ceremony on Wednesday
Lou Opfer to Truman State University (D2)
Maggie Schrier to Hendrix College (D3)
Megan Garrad to William Jewell College (NAIA)
In addition, junior Devon Newport has verbally committed to play for the SLU Billikens beginning in 2009.

Adam Strong, Lebanon YellowjacketsAdam Strong of the Lebanon Yellowjackets signed on Friday with Central Christian College of the Bible. He’s pictured to the left, in the center with Coach Mike Gow, AD Ron Bandy in the back row and his parents on each side. Photo provided by the Yellowjackets.

The Willard Tigers announced that Patsy Middleton is joining Regina Bodine and Jessie Yach at Missouri Valley. The ceremony will be today.

The Joplin Globe offered a a couple of updates for the Joplin Eagles. Joplin High School seniors T.C. Ross and Christian Hernandez will play on a new team next year. Literally. Ross and Hernandez signed letters-of-intent Wednesday afternoon to play soccer at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. The Golden Norsemen will have an NJCAA-sanctioned soccer program for the first time this fall. Back on February 12th, Stephanie Taylor, a midfielder, and her friend, goalkeeper Randi Russell signed letters-of-intent to join the Missouri Southern women’s soccer program

From Central Missouri, Jeff City Helias girls soccer players, Melissa Young and Caty Newbold, signed with Missouri-Rolla and William Woods University. The Jefferson City Jays have two players signing with William Woods today – Katie Denning and Kelsey “george” Sanders.

The earlier announcement is here.

Contact me and Friend Me so we can stay in touch while your away at school!

Springfield Soccer College Signings

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I haven’t done this justice folks, as my regular readers know I’ve had a few … distractions. The good news is that gives me plenty of content for the coming month leading up to the girls high school season. So we’ll start with a list of known commitments and in the coming days and weeks, I’ll be providing more detail on the individual players. If I’ve missed you, or your decision hasn’t been made yet, please keep me up-to-date so I can share your story with the rest of the community. In the meantime, here’s the early list for the Class of 2008!

Heath Melugin, Kickapoo – Missouri State Bears
Chealsey Russell, Kickapoo – Rice University Owls
Tara Bailes, Springfield Catholic – Missouri State Bears
Anne Prenger, Springfield Catholic – University of Missouri St Louis Tritons
Katy McLain, Kickapoo – Drury Panthers
Kyler Temple, Kickapoo – Drury Panthers
Zack Hay, Kickapoo – Missouri Science & Technology Miners w00t!
Lorin “Lou” Opfer, Glendale – Truman State Bulldogs
Brianna Ragains, Lebanon – Missouri Southern Lions (Joplin)
Jessica McCutcheon, Kickapoo – Rogers State Hillcats
TJ Miner Martin, Webb City -Rogers State Hillcats (Claremore, OK)
Michael Handley, Webb City – Ashford University Saints (Clinton, IA)
Maggie Schrier, Glendale – Hendrix Warriors(Conway, AR)
Ryan Toombs, Bolivar – Crowder College Roughriders (Neosho, MO)
Rebecca Carter, Central – Grinnell College Pioneers (IA)
Brice Hunt, West Plains – Birmingham Southern Panthers
Luke Bayless, Carthage – Northeastern Oklahoma Norsemen (Miami, OK)
Matt Arnold, Carthage – Northeastern Oklahoma Norsemen (Miami, OK)

I think your Dad would be very proud of you.

If you’d like to help me keep up with your game, friend me on Facebook. I promise I’m discrete. I learned that lesson a long time ago… And remember, you can see all of these young men at the Southwest All-Star game on June 19th. The ladies nominations will come out in late May.