The West Plains Lady Zizzer Soccer Team traveled west to Joplin to get out of the rain on Thursday. The games were moved to the new turf and Junge Field. Joplin controlled the play early and had several shots on goal, but none of them proved too dangerous. The Lady Zizzers managed a couple of chances in the first half, but couldn’t get on the scoreboard.
Joplin finally opened the scoring in the 34th minute. After a Joplin corner kick, West Plains failed to clear the ball. Rachel Lazenby picked up the loose ball and fired a shot to the far corner from near the top of the 18-yard box. 1-0 Joplin. A brief period of rain that lasted a few minutes ensued. The Lady Eagles would add a second goal in the 38th minute. Lauren Copple’s crossfrom the right side found Stephanie Loden near the back post. Loden headed the ball in for a 2-0 Joplin lead.
West Plains came out strong to start the 2nd half and got on the board early. In the 44th minute, Michelle Esterle carried the ball down the field on the counterattack. Rachel Skelly made a late run into the play. Esterle laid the ball off to Skelly who worked a give and go to Esterle. As she entered the 18-yard box, Esterle sent a shot past Joplin Keeper Randi Russell to cut the lead to 2-1.
Joplin added to their lead in the 50th minute. Off of a Joplin corner kick, Lazenby’s ball hit off a West Plains defender near the goalline and Kelly Yount knocked it in to make it 3-1 Joplin. West Plains moved the ball much better in the second half and really caught fire late in the game. With about four minutes remaining. Beth Kittle sent a free kick into the box from 40 yards out. Mollie Plocher kicked the ball over the Joplin keeper and into the goal. It appeared that West Plains had cut the lead to 3-2, but the Referee called a high kick on the play and disallowed the goal. Despite creating a few more chances, West Plains was unable to add any more goals. The final score Joplin 3, West Plains 1. West Plains falls to 1-4-0 on the season and 0-2 in the Ozark Conference.
In JV action, Joplin won 1-0 getting a goal in the first 10 minutes of the game. West Plains moved the ball well and controlled a lot of the play. The second half was especially good for the Lady Zizzers. West Plains falls to 0-3 on the season.
