West Plains Zizzer Soccer

The Glendale Falcons improved to 11-0 on the season as they defeated the Zizzers 7-0 on Tuesday evening. The Falcons attack was fast and furious. Ian Newport opened the scoring in the 2nd minute with a blast from nearly 30 yards out. Five minutes later Patrick Baltz notched his first of two goals on the night. A minute later Devon Newport, who will play soccer at St.Louis University next fall, dribbled through the Zizzers defense and put his shot in the back of the net from close range to make it 3-0 for the Falcons. Cameron Dugan made it 4-0 in the 9th minute and Newport struck again in the 10th minute. Baltz would score his second goal in the 16th minute to make the score 6-0. As Glendale began to make substitutions, the Zizzers settled down a little and began to move the ball. The first half would end with the score still at 6-0.

The Glendale starting lineup was back out to start the second half, but this time the Zizzers did a better job of defending. The only goal of the half would come from Indiana recruit, Graham Basecke in the 16th minute. The Zizzers played hard and played more as a team in the second half, getting two very good shots from Nathan Moore. Moore had a nice shot off a free kick that the Glendale Keeper knocked over the crossbar and a left footed shot through the run of play. Despite the score, the Zizzers can hold their heads high as they kept working hard until the final whistle. Glendale may be the best team in Southwest Missouri and are currently ranked #9 in the State in Class 3 (The largest Class in Boys Soccer).

In JV action, Glendale beat West Plains 10-0. The Falcons got on the board just 25 seconds into the game and never looked back. The Zizzers just couldn’t get anything going. Defensively there wasn’t enough communication or movement to keep up with the Falcons. The Falcons scored 8 goals in the first half. The Zizzers played a little better in the second half, but 2 goals for Glendale ended the game in the 16th minute.

Up next for both teams will be games against Carthage in Springfield and the Cooper Soccer Complex Field #3 on Thursday. JV begins at 5:00pm. The Varsity will travel to Camdenton on Friday and Saturday for a tournament. West Plains will face Catholic at 6:00pm Friday, Sullivan at 9:00am Saturday and Fulton at 5:00pm Saturday.

As part of the 100th year of the Zizzer Homecoming Celebration, the Zizzer Soccer Teams will host a social on Friday October 3, from 5:30-6:30pm at the WPHS Soccer Field. Hotdogs, chips and drinks will be available for all current and former Zizzer and Lady Zizzer Soccer Players and their families. Come out and socialize before the football game. We hope to get some pictures to put on the website. Spread the word, we hope to see a bunch of you there.

For more Zizzer Centennial information, check out the Zizzer Centennial link on the right hand column.

The Zizzers made their first ever trip to Branson to play soccer on Friday night and came away with a 2-0 victory. The field was in excellent shape and the PA announcer did a good job of keeping the fans informed about what was happening. West Plains controlled much of the play early on, showing their best ball possession of the season. The Zizzers showed some patience and spread the ball around while creating some good scoring opportunities. It paid off in the 24th minute as Jesse Wright sent a pass to Nathan Moore in the middle of the field. Moore fired a shot from about 25 yards out inside the far post for a 1-0 Zizzer lead.

In the second half, the Zizzers continued their good play. Branson stepped up their play, but West Plains was able to keep them off the scoreboard with good teamwork and aggressive play by Keeper Anthony Holt (pictured against Logan-Rogersville). Thirteen minutes into the second half, a ball was played into the box. After about three Zizzer shots were blocked by the Pirate defense, Brodie Bender found the loose ball and sent it into the net from 8 yards out for his first Varsity Goal and a 2-0 Zizzer lead. The Pirates made a late push to cut into the Zizzer lead, but West Plains held on for the shutout. Great performance boys! The two-game winning streak improves the Zizzer record to 4-8-0 on the season.

In JV action, West Plains struggled to get going early. Lack of communication and teamwork led to some quick goals for the Pirates. Branson scored 5 goals in the first 9 minutes of play and then added one more before the half. The Zizzers played better in spurts in the second half and Branson added 3 more goals for a final score of 9-0.

Up next for both teams are games at Home Tuesday against State Ranked Glendale. The Falcons are 9-0 (through Friday night) and ranked #9 in the State in Class 3. Come out and support the Zizzers on Tuesday.

The games at Branson today will be played at the Junior High and not at the High School. If you need directions contact Ruth in the Athletic Office at 256-6150.

The Zizzer Varsity Soccer Team picked up their third victory of the season Thursday night as they edged the Logan-Rogersville Wildcats in a shootout. After a scoreless first half that was less than pretty, the Zizzers came out hard in the second half and created several good scoring chances. But it was the Wildcats who got on the scoreboard first. In the 63rd minute of play. A Rogersville player sent a cross into the box from the left side to Brandon Ludwig who put the ball in the net for a 1-0 Wildcat lead. The Zizzers would draw level just 7 minutes later. David Evans sent a free kick into the box from the left side. Seth Phegley flicked the ball with his head to Tony Meza (pictured against Poplar Bluff) who headed it inside the far post for his first Varsity Goal. The rest of regulation and two 10-minute Overtime periods produced some exciting soccer, but failed to produce a goal. That meant a penalty kick shootout.

In the shootout, the Zizzers shot first. The first shooter for the Zizzers was Klay Norman who put his shot in and gave West Plains a 1-0 lead. The first Rogersville shooter sent his shot over the top of the goal. The second shooter for West Plains was Seth Phegley whose shot put the Zizzers up 2-0. Nathan Davis scored for the Wildcats to cut the lead to 2-1. Dustin Downen saved the next Zizzer shot and then Wes Bird tied it up at 2-2 with his goal. Goalkeeper Anthony Holt put the Zizzers back in the lead at 3-2 with his attempt and Rogersville missed a shot wide to the left of the goal. With a chance to clinch it the fifth Zizzer shot was saved by Downen leaving it up to Rogersville with the final shot. Anthony Holt punched the final ball away to give the Zizzers the win. The official score goes down as 2-1 with the Zizzers winning the shootout 3-2. Although it is exciting, a shootout is a tough way to decide a game after both teams battled hard for 100 minutes.

In the JV game, only 35 minutes of action were played because of darkness. The Zizzers came out and played well, creating some good scoring chances, but ended up losing 1-0 on a goal in the 22nd minute. This was a much better effort by the Zizzers than they had on Tuesday at Rolla. The teamwork was much improved.

Up next are games Friday at Branson, JV first at 4:30pm I believe.

The Zizzers traveled to Rolla on Tuesday and came home on the wrong side of some big numbers. The Varsity lost 9-0 although it was a better game for our boys than the score might indicate. West Plains played a good first half and were down 3-0 at the break. Two goals from the Bulldogs All-Time leading goalscorer Tyler Sinnott, and another goal off a corner kick put the Bulldogs out in front. The Zizzers played pretty well defensively and generated a few scoring opportunities including a great shot by Jesse Wright that forced the Rolla keeper to make a great save.

In the second half, the Zizzers changed things up a little bit and were able to move the ball well at times. Wright managed another good shot that the Rolla Keeper made a good save on, but that was as close to a goal as the Zizzers would get. They continued to play hard though and overall it wasn’t a bad performance. A few mistakes and some bad luck mixed in with a good Rolla team. The Bulldogs would score 6 goals in the second half, 1 off a quick free kick and 3 others off of corner kicks.

In JV action, Rolla defeated the Zizzers 10-0. Rolla scored 6 in the first half. The Zizzers played better for awhile in the second half, but Rolla added 4 more goals ending the game early with just under 8 minutes to play.

Up next for both teams will be games at Logan-Rogersville on Thursday. Varsity will play first at about 4:15pm.

On Thursday, Varsity will play first at 4:30pm or earlier (4:15pm) if the teams are ready at that time. JV will play after the Varsity for as long as there is daylight. They do not have lights at the field. Bring your chairs because they don’t have bleachers either. The field is located at the High School.

The Zizzers went to Springfield on Friday and ran into an unexpected weather delay. Lightning in the are threw the games off schedule. The West Plains/Kearney game was moved to the turf at JFK Stadium and was played after two other games. The move was necessary because the grass field at Parkview doesn’t have lights. It was about 9:30pm when the Zizzers kicked off. Facing a strong Kearney team that had already defeated perennial power Pembroke Hill 4-2 earlier in the season and playing on turf for the first time, the Zizzers had a tough task ahead of them. None of those things seemed to effect the boys though as they turned in one of their best performances of the season.

Things started out with West Plains defending a lot early, but they were eventually able to settle things down and get some ball movement of their own. After spending time on ball possession in practice on Thursday, the Zizzers executed better than they have at any point this Fall, creating several scoring opportunites. Kearney opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a shot by Zach Allen over the top of Zizzer Keeper Anthony Holt. Just six minutes later, West Plains drew level as Jordan Johnson headed in a corner kick from Nathan Moore for his first Varsity Goal. Kearney would take the lead again in the 29th minute as Allen again found the net with a shot to put the Bulldogs up 2-1. The second half provided a very entertaining game as both teams played exciting soccer. In the end, the two goals by Zach Alen would be enough for Kearney to get the win.

On Saturday morning, West Plains took on the Neosho Wildcats. The first half was scoreless although the Zizzers put a lot of pressure on the Wildcat defense. The second half was much of the same. Finally in the 58th minute, a corner kick by Nathan Moore was header in by Cory Parks to give the Zizzers a 1-0 lead. It was then that Neosho stepped up their pressure. A furious final 20 minutes, with some good plays by the Zizzer defense and saves by Anthony Holt preserved the 1-0 win for West Plains.

In the Fifth Place game on Saturday afternoon, the Zizzers squared off against the Fulton Hornets. Fulton came out hard and got on the scoreboard in the 4th minute on a goal by Reese Wiggins. That seemed to fire the Hornets up and took some life out of the Zizzers who played very quiet and slow during the first half. In the second half, the Zizzers came out and competed hard. West Plains was able to create some scoring chances, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Fulton would add another goal in the 52nd minute on a loose ball after a corner kick to make it 2-0. West Plains had two good scoring chances off of corner kicks in the final 10 minutes, but just missed on both of them.

The Zizzers made some strides in consistency at the tournament. Despite losing 2 games, the team is headed in the right direction. Twenty players saw action during the tournament and each one gained some valuable experience and made significant contributions. The Zizzers record now stands at 2-7-0 on the season. Next up are games at Rolla on Tuesday. JV plays first at 5:00pm.

(Photo Courtesy of Steve ‘Ole’ Olson of SGFsoccer.com)
The Zizzers traveled to Springfield on Wednesday to take on the Central Bulldogs. Central came out and put pressure on the Zizzer defense right away. West Plains created some chances of their own later in the half, but neither team could get on the scoreboard. In the second half, the Zizzers changed things around a little bit and were able to create some more scoring chances including a shot off the crossbar by Dylan York, but that would be as close to scoring as they would get. Central took the lead in the 21st minute of the second half as Miguel Guerreiro beat his defender down the right slide and then put a shot past Zizzer Keeper Anthony Holt for a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs would add to the lead in the 36th minute of the half. This time Brian McGarry shot from the left side got in between Holt and the near post to make it 2-0 Bulldogs. That is how the game would end, a 2-0 victory for the Bulldogs, the first time Central has beaten West Plains.

It was a well deserved win for Central as the Zizzers are trying to find some consistency to their play. A strong performance Tuesday night didn’t carry over to Wednesday. As we get deeper into the schedule, that consistency becomes even more important. Up next will be a tough weekend. The Zizzers battle Kearney at 5:30pm Friday at the Parkview Tournament. They will then play either Neosho or Hannibal on Saturday morning with a second game Saturday afternoon. After the Kearney game, the team will head over to Plaster Stadium and watch the MSU Bears and former Zizzer Nick Dryden as they take on Valparaiso.

For more on the West Plains vs Central game, check out SGFsoccer.com. And for more pictures by Steve Olson, click on the picture. Randy Hunt also has his pictures.

The weather was great for the soccer on Tuesday night as the Zizzers traveled to Waynesville for an Ozark Conference matchup. West Plains was at full strength again with everybody healthy and ready to play, but that would change quickly. The Zizzers came out playing hard as they continue making adjustments and getting comfortable with each other. Waynesville opened the scoring in the 12th minute as Eric Iverson sent a ball to a streaking Ben Moore, who found the back of the net with his shot. It would be the only goal of the first half although the Tigers headed one off the crossbar on a corner kick a little later. Shortly after the Waynesville goal, Klay Norman had to leave the game with a leg injury suffered in a collision. Later Seth Phegley took a bump on the head and missed the second half of play.

In the second half, the Zizzers played without two key starters, yet they continued working hard especially on the defensive end. With some players moving to new positions the Zizzers were able to keep the Tigers from adding to their lead until the 26th minute of the half. Brandon Kilthau hit Jeff Brayman in stride with a pass that caught the Zizzer defense flat and sent Brayman in alone on Goalkeeper Anthony Holt. Brayman shot past the keeper and into the goal for a 2-0 lead. Just two minutes later, Mark Ward found himself open 25 yards from goal and he buried a beautiful shot into the far corner of the goal to make it 3-0 Tigers. That would be all of the scoring in the game. West Plains showed an improved effort despite missing some key players for significant portions of the game.

In JV action, Waynesville defeated the Zizzers 7-0. In the first half, it was the Tigers who showed up ready to play. The result was 5 unanswered goals and a 5-0 halftime lead. West Plains stepped up their game in the second half and showed some improvement in their play. More hustle and better communication helped limit the Tigers to two second half goals.

Up next will be a Varsity Only match vs Central on Wednesday at Cooper Field #2 in Springfield. Kickoff is set for 5:00pm.