Joplin defeated Carl Junction 3-0 on Tuesday night in a Central Ozark Conference clash at the JHS Athletic Complex.
Zeka Ajruloski notched the game’s first goal in the 20th minute, assisted by Ely Montanez.
Adam Badr’s goal in the 42nd minute gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead before Andy Cordova’s goal in the 57th minute accounted for the final margin.
Montanez assisted on all three Joplin goals.
The Eagles took 20 shots, with 11 shots on goal. Carl Junction managed two shots on goal.
Joplin goalkeeper Brayden Anderson was credited with two saves. Carl Junction goalie Blake Miller made eight saves.
Joplin will host College Heights (with McAuley Catholic) on Thursday.
Carl Junction hosts Neosho on Oct. 17.
OZARK 4, CARTHAGE 3 (OT)
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Ozark’s Caleb Lepant recorded the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in overtime on Tuesday night in a Central Ozark Conference showdown at David Haffner Stadium.
All three of Carthage’s goals were scored by Welle Welle, with the goals coming in the 11th, 48th and 58th minutes.
Alex Williams scored Ozark’s first two goals, with Lepant scoring a game-tying goal late in regulation.
Both teams entered the night undefeated in the COC.
Ozark is now 15-2-2 and 7-0 in the COC, while Carthage fell to 16-2 and 6-1 in the COC.
The Joplin High School boys soccer team suffered a 4-2 setback to visiting Springfield Catholic on Monday night.
Joplin’s goals were scored by Andy Cordova and Ely Montanez.
Cordova’s goal, which was assisted by Ever Blanco, came in the seventh minute. Montanez scored in the 70th minute, and the goal was assisted by Cordova.
Scoring goals for Catholic were Matthew Gerety, Tyler Holum, Rian Mulherin and Erick Fuentes.
Gerety converted a penalty kick in the ninth minute before Holum’s goal in the 16th minute gave the Irish a 2-1 lead.
Mulherin scored in the 48th minute and Fuentes’ goal came in the 59th minute.
Joplin took 13 shots, with nine on goal. Catholic managed 10 shots, eight on goal.
Joplin goalkeeper Brayden Anderson was credited with four saves, while Catholic’s Caden Hillwick made seven saves.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Kaulden Hood and Josh White each scored a pair of goals for the Webb City Cardinals in Tuesday night’s 5-2 victory over rival Carl Junction at Cardinal Stadium.
Hood recorded his first goal in the 52nd minute and the second in the 73rd minute, while White scored his goals in the 69th and 90th minutes.
Luis Gallardo scored on a penalty kick in the 48th minute for Webb City.
Both of Carl Junction’s goals were scored by Gavin Cowger, the first in the 43rd minute and the second in the 55th minute.
CARTHAGE 3, REPUBLIC 1
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Senior forward Welle Welle scored a pair of first half goals just two minutes apart to give Carthage a 2-0 lead in Tuesday’s match against Republic.
The first goal, which came in the 16th minute, was unassisted, while Silas Laytham assisted on the second goal in the 18th minute.
Aldo Sanchez-Cancinos recorded a goal in the 29th minute, with Welle assisting, to make it 3-0 in favor of the hosts.
Republic’s goal was scored by Santino Stiglianese in the 43rd minute.
THOMAS JEFFERSON 4, COLUMBUS 0
COLUMBUS, Kan. — Jaxx Wisdom scored a pair of goals to lead Thomas Jefferson to a 4-0 victory over the Columbus Titans on Tuesday.
Eann Espinoza and Ryker Faaborg added one goal apiece for the Cavaliers, while Yousuf Mokhtar assisted on one of Wisdom’s goals.
Wisdom recorded six shots on goal, while Espinoza had four shots on goal, Faaborg had two shots on goal and Kyler Beard contributed one shot on goal.
Bekah Davis recorded seven saves, while Lincoln Miller had two saves.
Thomas Jefferson (1-0) hosts the Joplin JV team at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
NIXA 3, JOPLIN 2 (OT)
Nixa nipped Joplin 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday night at JHS.
It was Joplin’s opener under new head coach Desmond Williams.
ROLLA, Mo. — The Neosho High School boys soccer team went 0-2 at the Rolla Shootout on Saturday.
In the first game of the 2023 season, Rolla defeated Neosho 4-1.
“We had some first game nervousness for sure but had some really good moments,” Neosho coach Steve Schnackenberg said. “We need to make those positive moments now for the entire 80 minutes. It was great to see the potential we have this season.”
Neosho’s goal was scored by Fabiani Ohajaca Casasola on a penalty kick.
Goalkeeper Jonathan Tribbey made five saves.
Rolla had nine shots on goal, while Neosho had seven shots on goal.
In the team’s second game, Hannibal defeated Neosho 3-0.
“It was a much better game,” Schnackenberg said. “We are still looking to gel together around our core players. We got to see some young and new players step up and earn some playing time.”
The Wildcats had five shots on goal but were unable to score. Hannibal had nine shots on goal.
Tribbey was credited with six saves.
Recording shots on goal for the Wildcats were Franklin Maldonado-Mendez, Ohajaca Casasola (2), Juan Blancarte and Santino Gomez Velasquez.
Neosho is at Branson on Tuesday. The Wildcats will host Webb City at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 5 in the home opener.
With an experienced group back, the Webb City boys soccer team has the expectations set high this fall.
Webb City features eight returning starters and seven other players who saw varsity playing time on a team that won a district championship and advanced to the Class 3 quarterfinals.
“We are very excited for this season,” Webb City coach Nick Harmon said. “The boys have had a productive summer training window and certainly have high expectations going into the regular season. I expect to have an enjoyable season. This group is a lot of fun to work with, they have great attitudes and work well together. Many of them have grown up playing together, so the team environment feels like family.”
Webb City’s returning starters are seniors Luis Gallardo (MF), Jadon Brisco (D), Trevor Peterson (D), Joseph Wermuth (F) and Josh White (F), juniors Daniel Aguilar (D) and Kaulden Hood (F) and sophomore Diego Aldrete (D).
The team’s other returning varsity letterwinners are seniors Brendan Campbell (F) and Brayden Brockmiller (F), juniors Kade Weston (GK), Ryan White (MF), A.J. Pease (D) and Zander Powers (MF) and sophomore Hudson Spikereit (MF).
Webb City’s Daniel Aguilar passes the ball during the Cardinals’ district semifinal matchup last fall. File photo.
“The biggest strength of this squad is the depth that we have coming back,” Harmon said. “We have qualified and experienced players at every position, so we believe there will be competition for playing time in every role. This is something we’ve not always had in the past, and will definitely drive the team to work harder this season.”
Harmon is confident the Cardinals have the talent to put together a solid season.
“The keys to success are being mentally tough and focused on the task at hand,” Harmon said. “The game of soccer always comes with ups and downs. If last season taught us anything, it’s that we turned around one of the lowest points we’ve ever been at (a six-game losing streak) and ended up at one of the highest highs the program has ever experienced (a state quarterfinal appearance). If we can focus on what we can control and work our hardest, day in and day out, we will have success.”
In order to have success, the Cardinals must continue to make steady progress throughout the fall season, Harmon added.
“It’s a long season with a lot of games, particularly for high school athletes,” Harmon noted. “We have to stay motivated and sharp every day, especially as the season drags on and injuries begin to occur. It’s a big ask for teenagers to train at a high level every day in order to compete with the tough schedule that we have. But we have a great junior and senior class who we are confident will lead the team properly this season.”
Webb City went 13-12 overall last season, with a 3-6 mark in the always-tough Central Ozark Conference. After capturing a district title, the Cardinals ended the season with a 2-1 loss to Glendale in the quarterfinals of the Class 3 state tournament.
The Cardinals lost four key performers to graduation in Alex Flores (F), Felipe Perez (F), Connor Black (GK) and Isaac Wade (F).
Webb City hosts Carl Junction at 6:30 on Aug. 29 in the ’23 opener.
Webb City’s Joseph Wermuth fights off a defender during the Cardinals’ district title match against Belton last fall. File photo.
