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.
