CARTHAGE, Mo. — Kickapoo outscored Joplin 2-0 in the second half to earn the win in the opening game Class 4 District 5 semifinal contest before Carthage rallied in overtime past Nixa in the second semifinal contest to cap the night at David Haffner Stadium.
CARTHAGE RALLIES FOR WIN OVER NIXA IN OVERTIME
Second-seeded Nixa jumped out in front early before sixth-seeded Carthage rallied on the way to a 2-1 win in overtime in the district semifinals.
After falling to Nixa 9-1 on Oct. 19 in the regular season, the Tigers wanted another chance at the Eagles. On Tuesday, they got that chance and made the most of it.
“From a competitive side, losing 9-1 to Nixa two weeks ago—we wanted another shot at them,” Carthage coach Jacob Osborne said. “That might sound weird, but that was the first time since I have been the head coach that we were mercy ruled. … We knew that wasn’t us and that we wanted another chance at them. The kids showed up playing with full heart in both (district tournament) games so far. Their minds are where they need to be, which is what I have been telling them all season—when their minds are on the game and they have their full focus, we are very difficult to beat.”
With the win, Carthage improves to 14-9 and will battle top-seeded Kickapoo (19-6-1) in the Class 4 District 5 championship round at 6 p.m. on Thursday at David Haffner Stadium.
“It is going to be tough,” Osborne said. “They’ve had a great season and they are playing well. When we played them earlier on in the season, I thought we were the better team in the first half and they were the better team in the second half. They came out with a 2-0 win. We are going to have to battle again. We are going to have to show up and play a full 80.”
Nixa struck from distance early in the contest when Kaleb James launched a shot from 35 yards out near the far hash lines for a goal in the eighth minute of play to make the score 1-0. Carthage had several early chances on offense with attacks at game-tying shots, but the Tigers couldn’t find any luck between the posts before heading into halftime trailing by a goal.
“I was pleased with the first half,” Osborne said. “I thought we were the better team. Every stat was backing it up except for what was on the scoreboard. I told them, we are going to get chances. When you get your chance, put it in.”
Going into the second half trailing, it was important for the Tigers to get on the scoreboard quickly, and Carthage did just that in the 46th minute of action when forward Neyzer Ramos Garcia found the back of the net to tie the score 1-1.
“That was huge because the early goal takes the pressure off,” Osborne said. “That let us relax a little bit and let us play instead of having that on our back to where we are constantly looking at the clock. Getting that early goal was huge.”
That was the last time a goal was scored in regulation, as 14 more minutes expired off the clock with each team trading possessions with nothing to show for it before the game ultimately went into timed sudden-death overtime.
Like they did in the district opener against Ozark, Carthage had a flair for the dramatics in the extra period as midfielder George Laytham stole a pass and fired a shot from just beyond 20 yards away that went over the hands of outstretched Nixa goalie Logan Elmer for the golden goal to end the contest with 4:20 left to play.
“We don’t quit, and earlier the year that wasn’t the case,” Osborne said. “Two weeks ago, we quit. That is something we’ve had to talk about throughout the season. We are finally learning.”
“He is a big-time player for us,” Osborne added about Laytham. “It’s weird, with his size, and everybody else being so small, he sticks out. But at the same time, I think it is more the coaches who notice how much he brings to our team. He is not a defender, but he cuts off so much defensively for us in the midfield.”
KICKAPOO DOWNS JOPLIN WITH BIG SECOND HALF
Kickapoo struck first before Joplin tied the game late in the first half only to see the Chiefs score two unanswered goals in the second half on the way to a 4-1 win in the district semifinals.
“It was such a close game,” Joplin coach Josh Thompson said. “That second goal was a momentum changer. Whoever got it was going to have a huge advantage. We just weren’t lucky enough to get that bounce our way.”
Joplin bounced back from an eight-win campaign in 2020 to finish with a 16-7 record in 2021.
“Since I have been here, looking at it as a whole-season picture, this is the best we’ve held together,” Thompson said. “It is a great group of guys. Every day has been awesome, and I think that says a lot about how we were able to get to 16 wins. And we even let a couple get away from us that we would like to have back. From top to bottom, this was a group effort. It is a good family to be a part of.”
The Eagles graduate seniors Grayson Stovern, Gabriel Deleon, Roberto Reyes, Eric Nelson, Abraham Montanez and Noah Pearson.
“I think all of those guys helped carry our momentum for the season,” Thompson said. “They wanted it so bad and they really did lead this group throughout the year. This year was their year to take charge, and they did that. I am proud of them.”
Kickapoo got on the board late in the first half when forward Corbin Clay found the back of the net on a rebound goal in the 27th minute of action for a 1-0 lead.
Joplin was able to tie the game up at 1-1 with less than five minutes to play before halftime when forward Luciano Reyes converted in the 36th minute off the assist from forward Gabriel Deleon, sending the contest into the intermission knotted up.
“We needed it,” Thompson said of Reyes’ goal. “It’s all about how you respond. All year, we were a great team at responding well, especially Luciano.”
After giving the Chiefs the lead in the first half, Clay struck again for Kickapoo in the 52nd minute from in close off the assist from Landon Keisker to make the score 2-1.
Clay pushed the lead to 3-1 after going top shelf on a penalty kick in the 64th minute of play to complete the hat trick.
Kickapoo’s Zachary Clark struck from in close just minutes later to give the Chiefs a 4-1 advantage with less than 16 minutes to play.
