The Ozark Tigers came to town onThursday night. This was the first meeting between the two teams since around 1997. The Zizzers got on the board early as Stuart Ziegler scored on a Penalty Kick in the 7th minute. The Zizzers continued to attack and added a second goal in the 30th minute. Chris Saner broke in on the left side and fired a shot. Ozark Keeper Jason Taylor made the save. The rebound bounced out in front and Saner hustled after it and put the shot in the net for a 2-0 lead. Just thre minutes later, Justin Scicluna would score on a Penalty Kick to give the Zizzers a 3-0 lead.
The Tigers came out strong in the second half. In the 56th minute Gabe Axtell slid a shot past Zizzer Keeper Shane Corl to cut the lead to 3-1. The Tigers had a few other chances to cut into the lead, but couldn’t find the net. The Zizzers played strong and fought hard even after going down a man in the 66th minute as Josh Sims was sent off for a second Yellow Card. Shane Corl (Pictured against Rolla) turned in a nice performance in goal to record the win.
Overall, the boys played well, moving the ball and creating good scoring chances. Defensively they were challenged by the strong, quick Ozark attack. This was a good performance against a good quality opponent. With the win, the Zizzers improve to 8-4 on the season, while Ozark falls to 7-2. Up next for the Zizzers is an Ozark Conference match at Glendale on Tuesday.
In JV action, the Tigers came out on top 3-0. The Zizzers played well at times, especially in the first half. West Plains was able to move the ball at times and create some chances, while playing well defensively. Ozark scored one goal in the first half and two goals in the second half. The Zizzers JV record falls to 0-4 on the season.