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Carthage soccer starts season 2-0 after 8-0 win over College Heights

By:
Lucas Davis

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage soccer coach Jacob Osborne was not happy with the way his Tigers played in their season-opening 2-1 win over Branson, and he wanted to see a better effort against College Heights on Thursday.

He got what he was looking for, as Carthage (2-0) scored six times in the first half en route to an 8-0 win over the Cougars (0-2) at David Haffner Stadium. 

“It was a good step forward,” Osborne said. “I told them before the game that we are not going to start the season where we end it (in terms) of level of play. The key for us is to try to take a step forward each game. That is what we did today, we took that first step.”

The Tigers put the pressure on the Cougars early with two goals in the first 12 minutes of action. Adrian Garrido broke the scoreless tie with a goal in the 10th minute. Elmerson Contreras found the back of the net shortly after with a goal in the 12th minute off an assist from Walter Mejia.  

“The focus tonight was coming in and not going straight ahead to try and get the ball and go, go, go,” Osborne said. “We wanted to have more patience in the build up, and wait until the defense made the mistake and then try to exploit that mistake. Our kids did a really good job of that tonight.”

Carthage didn’t let up with the early lead. Garrido struck again in the 20th minute off an assist by Neyzer Ramos Garcia to push the lead to 3-0. Contreras scored his second goal of the first half in the 31st minute off the assist from George Laytham. 

“I expect both of them to score a lot of goals for us this year,” Osborne said of Garrido and Contreras. “Adrian was our leading scorer last year as a sophomore, and I believe he is one of the best players in the area. He is a super smart player who can read the game really well, his skill level is super high and he can finish.

“Elmerson had a bad first game, and he will be the first one to tell you that is probably going to be the worst game he plays all year. I think he was wanting to make up for that today and get back on the right track, and he did. His first goal was a hustle play, and he just continued with it.”

The Tigers took a 5-0 lead when Lester Mejia scored in the 36th minute on the assist by Garrido. The final goal of the first half came in the 40th minute when Marcos Valdez found the back of the net off the assist from Jesus Alvarado to send Carthage into the locker room with a 6-0 cushion.

“It really was just what we’ve been working on and talking about,” Osborne said of the team’s offensive strategy. “We were trying to create space for our attackers, pulling out the defense. All of our kids did a good job of that tonight, having the patience to send it back to the defense and reset if the play wasn’t there instead of trying to force it.”

Laytham added a goal in the 50th minute of action, while Alvarado ended the contest in the 58th minute with the golden goal.

“We have a lot of skill,” Osborne said. “And it’s not just our attackers who have a lot of skill. Our defenders, the outside backs, and our starting goalkeeper is even skilled with his feet. That is a luxury that a lot of coaches in our area do not have. … That is something I am fortunate to have here.”

Angel Ordonez (in goal first half) and Inmer Paz Hernandez (in goal second half) were credited with the shutout.

Carthage hosts Joplin on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on Senior Night.

“Joplin always has good speed, and they generally are very organized in the back, defensively,” Osborne said. “We will have to work harder than we did today to be able to break them down. They have some kids with some skill as well, and on top of that, they always play hard. We will have to have our speed of play be very high, and we have to be smart with the ball.”

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