Day: November 8, 2020

NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho scored five unanswered goals in the second half en route to a 5-0 win over Bolivar in the Class 3 sectionals on Saturday at Bob Anderson Stadium.

“There was kind of a little adversity in the first half,” Neosho coach James Carter said. “A couple balls not bouncing our way, and Bolivar playing well on defense, it’s understandable. We did a great job in the second half of keeping the pressure up in the second half. I was proud of them. No frustrations came out, and they just executed in the second half.” 

Neosho applied heavy offensive pressure the entire first half with little to show for it because of an outstanding effort by Bolivar goaltender Trenton Arnold, who had several incredible saves over the course of the first 40 minutes that led to a scoreless tie by halftime. 

“We just wanted to keep the pressure up and keep the shots up, battle through for loose balls and stuff like that,” Carter said. “We thought that would be the difference in the game, and eventually we would get a few in.”

The offensive pressure finally broke through when Neosho’s Juan Perez found life downfield early in the second half with one defender to beat. Perez battled for position with the ball against the Liberator defender, fell down, bounced up and scored from 8 yards out to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the 45th minute.

“I was glad people got to see him make that kind of play because that is the kind of play he makes all the time,” Carter said. “It is a blue-collar goal from Juan. That is the type of player he is. It exemplifies what he has done all year.”

In the 50th minute, Neosho’s Trey Darcy found the back of the net off a pass from Yesion Vasquez to push the lead to 2-0.

The lead went to three goals in the 55th minute when Edwin Lucas floated a pass in close to Alberto Robledo, who scored on a header.

Perez added a second goal in the 59th minute, with Robledo scoring his second on a PK in the 63rd minute to make the score 5-0, sealing the sectional win in the process.

“When you see the ball go in the back of the net a couple of times, it picks your spirit up, and that’s true with anybody,” Carter said of his team’s offensive explosion. “I thought they did a good job of responding after seeing one or two (go in) to keep putting pressure on them to get some more. It was a big momentum shift.”

While Neosho’s offense was busy scoring at will in the second half, the Wildcats’ defense and goaltender Kayden Wood were busy earning a shutout win.

“Kayden’s excellent and made some big saves today,” Carter said. “We talk about us scoring goals at the end, and how that affects the momentum of the game. Making big saves can take momentum away from a team. He does an excellent job of that, and not giving people a ton of chances.”

UP NEXT

Neosho, winners of 16 straight, advances to the quarterfinal round of the state tournament for the third straight year. The Wildcats (19-1) host Glendale (16-4) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

“It is a quick turnaround,” Carter said. “There is a limited amount of preparation that can be done, but we will do that and have these guys ready.”