In District Semifinal action on Monday night, the Bolivar Liberators defeated the Zizzers 3-2 in Overtime. Bolivar got on the board first in the 5th minute. A long throw-in went to Adam Spaulding who knocked it in for a 1-0 Zizzer lead. The quick goal unsettled the Zizzers a little and Bolivar had the better of play for most of the first half. In the 34 th minute, Justin Scicluna fired a shot on goal. Bolivar Keeper, Dale Baker, made the initial save, but Brice Hunt raced for the rebound. Hunt’s first shot was stopped by Baker, but Brice put the rebound in to tie things up at 1-1. That’s how the first half would end.
In the second half, the Zizzers came out strong. Early in the half, Brice Hunt scored a goal, but had it called back for offsides. In the 62nd minute, Justin Scicluna beat a couple of defenders and fired a shot into the net for a 2-1 Zizzer lead. Bolivar would strike back in the 72nd minute as Ryan Toombs found Matt Magana who turned a fired a shot past Landon Perry to tie the game at 2-2. The game would go to overtime tied at 2. In the 5th minute of Overtime, Bolivar sent a free kick in near the box. The ball was knocked around a couple of times before Nolan West headed it into the goal for the game winner. The Zizzers end the season with a record of 17-8-0. Bolivar advances to face Cassville in the District Final on Wednesday.
The loss ended the High School Careers of 13 Zizzer Seniors who will be missed. They include: Shane Corl, Brice Hunt, Nathaniel Keating, David Mills, Mike Moore, Landon Perry, Anton Pleshka, Chris Saner, Justin Scicluna, Josh Sims, Ethan Stoops, Brandon Wood, and Stuart Ziegler. Thanks for all you have done Seniors. It has been a pleasure to coach you guys.
Isn’t 13 seniors the largest group ever for the Zs? Congrats on another great season. You’ve made all us old, long time fans proud.
13 is a lot. What did we have last year 12?
We had 12 last year. 13 is a bunch.
It was a great time watching all you boys grow up as a team to become fine young men. A job well done coaches and players.
West Plains has real momentum in younger soccer teams to become future LARGE groups of winning senior soccer players building winning traditions of the West Plain’s soccer clubs, such as Copperheads and Lightning Strikers. I am really looking forward to future West Plain’s club teams becoming Zizzers.
Please, soccer fans, keep up the support with your money and time for West Plains Soccer Association and its club teams. The garden of rec league players needs your support to blossom club and Zizzer teams. Forgive my sappiness, but a great high school program takes a committed team effort of parents and community when the kids are young. Coaches Nick Schmitt and Carol Brown alone cannot build strong winning teams unless players are exposed early and nutured with teamwork, commitment, and character underlying skills based soccer. Maybe some of you old, old club and Zizzer soccer fans out there can come back to WPSA board’s developmental efforts to build on the park, rec, and club wheels which you invented for Zizzer soccer traditions to comtinue in the future. The vision is still, to build from rec, competitive soccer teams of high character for every boys and girls age division to feed the Zizzer program and ultimately a local college program. We need your help.
Great season guys, and congratulations on all of the records and accomplishments this year. Wow, you 13 will truly be missed. there are so many amazing players on that list. Such a strong graduating class. Incredible. So to the seniors, congratulations on wonderful careers for West Plains soccer, as you provided the team with four of its best seasons ever. I can’t wait to whoop you in the alumni games.