West Plains Zizzer Soccer

Searching for some consistency in their play, the Zizzers traveled to Springfield to take on the Glendale Falcons on Monday night. The Falcons started off strong and the Zizzers weren’t able to match them. The Falcons pounded away at the Zizzer goal, striking first in the 4th minute on a shot by Alec Martinez. Patrick Baltz would add goals in the 15th and 30th minutes to give Glendale a 3-0 halftime lead. The Zizzers lacked constant communication and were patience on defense. Offensively, the Zizzers weren’t able to get much going, in part because of Glendale’s pressure and partly because the weren’t playeing relaxed and playing together.

Things weren’t much better in the second half for West Plains. Glendale scored goals in the 43rd, 46th, 54th, 55th, and 66th minutes. You can pick out a little thing here and there that were good, but there was no consistency to the Zizzers play. We need to improve some of the little things if we want to compete with good teams. We are a work in progress and we will be better against Carthage on Thursday.

In JV action, Glendale prevailed 4-2. The Zizzers played a good first fifteen minutes. Glendale scored in the 15th minute to take a 1-0 lead. The Zizzers hit a lull after the goal and struggled the last ten minutes of the half. Glendale added goals in the 28th, 32nd, and 34th minutes for a 4-0 halftime lead. The second half saw better play from the Zizzers which led to two goals. The first came early in the second half. The Falcons passed a ball back to the defense. Lyle Craig put pressure on the ball. The defender turned and passed the ball to his goalkeeper. The goalkeeper misplayed the ball and it rolled into the net to make the score 4-1. The Zizzers woul get another goal, this one coming off a throwin. Emilio Navarrete took a throw-in and sent the ball toward the near post of the goal. A Zizzer player challenged the ball, but a Glendale player got his head on the ball and knocked it into the net to make the score 4-2. Overall it was a pretty good game for the JV. Next up will be games against Carthage on Thursday in Springfield at Cooper Soccer Complex. JV start time is 5:00pm with Varsity to follow

(Photo by Randy Hunt of R & R Photography)

Thursday night was a good one for the Zizzers. The Zizzer JV Team (Pictured) Tied Rogersville 2-2 while the Varsity Zizzers picked up a 2-1 Victory. In the JV game, The Zizzers would strike first. Jonathon Hanshaw sent a ball in to Dillon Biggers who fired it into the net for a 1-0 lead in the 9th minute of play. The Zizzers continued to move the ball well, but couldn’t add to their lead. In the 20th minute, Rogersville would draw level on a goal by Jessie Powell. The score would be 1-1 at halftime.

In the second half, both teams had several chances to score. Rogersville broke the tie in the fifth minute of the half on a goal by Zach Cosens. The Zizzers had a couple of great chances in the last ten minutes of the game, but they couldn’t convert them. With less than two minutes to go, Sean Tobeler sent a ball into the box. Devon Scott jumped and headed the ball up and over the Rogersville keeper and the ball fell just inside the post to tie the game at 2-2. That’s how it would end. Good Job boys!

In the Varsity game, West Plains came out strong and had the better of play throughout much of the first half. Brodie Bender put the Zizzers up 1-0 in the 4th minute. That would be the only goal of the half. The Zizzers moved the ball fairly well. Defensively the Zizzers were a little too impatient at times, but overall they played well.

In the second half, West Plains scored in the 45th minute. Justyn Biggers sent a corner kick into the box. Brodie bender challenged the Keeper and knocked the ball in the goal for a 2-0 lead. Rogersville answered right back to cut the lead to 2-1 in the 47th minute. Brenden Williams put the ball in the net after several Zizzers dove in trying to defend the ball. From that point, it was a back and forth battle. The Zizzers woul receive a Penalty Kick a midway through the half. The shot by Colton Hensley hit the post. Brodie Bender headed the rebound off the underside of the crossbar. The ball was ruled to not have gone across the goalline when it came off the crossbar and the score remained 2-1. Both teams had some chances the rest of the way, but there would be no more scoring. The Zizzers would get the hard fought win.

It was a good, close game with a high level of intensity. It is something that we needed and to come away with a victory makes it even better. The win is big because Rogersville is the only team in our District that we play during the season. Next up for the Zizzers will be games at Glendale on Monday. This is a change from the original schedule. The games were originally scheduled for Tuesday, but were changed because of a conflict at Glendale. JV will play first at 5:00pm.

(Photo by Randy Hunt of R & R Photography)

The West Plains Zizzers played their best game of the season on Tuesday night against the Rolla Bulldogs in an Ozark Conference Match. The Zizzers came out playing together, communicating, and in better defensive starting positions. The Zizzers did a good job defending as a team. Rolla came into the match with a record of 4-2-0 and 1-0-0 in Ozark Conference play. The Zizzers on the other hand were 1-7-0 overall and 1-2-0 in Ozark Conference play coming into the match.

The Zizzers did a good job defensively in the first half, holding Rolla to one goal. That score came in the 37th minute of play as Cody Martin’s cross from the left side found Kyle Keebey in front of the goal. Keebey’s shot got by Zizzer keeper Louis Jones for a 1-0 Bulldog lead. That would be the halftime score. We knew Rolla would come out strong in the second half and that we would have to match their energy to stay close.

The second half was a lot like the first half. Rolla moved the ball, but the Zizzers were able to keep them off the scoreboard for awhile. It wouldn’t be until the 62nd minute that Rolla would get their second goal. The Zizzers were called for a foul about 25 yards from goal resulting in a free kick for the Bulldogs. On the ensuing kick, Cody Martin placed a perfect ball just past the Zizzers Wall and inside the far post for a 2-0 lead. The Zizzers kept playing hard and moved the ball a little bit here and there, but couldn’t create the dangerous chances they needed to score a goal. In the 74th minute, the Bulldgos would get goal number three. This time it was Miles Wilson who knocked the ball in the goal after Louis Jones had made the inital save, but couldn’t corral it. Kyle Keebey got the assist on the goal. In the 78th minute, Keebey would wrap up the scoring, receiving an assit from Cody Martin.

The Zizzers had nothing to put their heads down about on this night. A good showing against a good Rolla team should give the boys confidence. They played hard and played together for 80 minutes. It was a team effort. Louis Jones performed well in goal. Klay Norman, Dylan York, Jack Parrish, and Colton Hensley did a nice job in the back playing the entire 80 minutes. Justyn Biggers, Brodie Bender, Chris Polston, Kamen Smith did a good job in the midfield. Zach Bartlett and Zack Dixon saw time both at Forward and in the midfield. Cory Parks, Logan Huff, and Travis Waterson did a nice job at Forward. The things we are working on in practice are being put to use in the games. We are making progress and tonight’s performance was a big step in the right direction. The key will be to continue building on it. Nice work Boys!

In JV action, the Zizzers fell to the Bulldogs 5-0. Rolla scored goals in the 6th, 7th, and 8th minutes to take a 3-0 lead. From their the boys settled down and played pretty well. The backs did an exceptional job tonight. Sean Tobeler, Justin Casillas, Devon Scott, and Jeffery Belanger did a good job at limiting Rolla’s chances around the box and Logan Huff made a couple of good saves in the first half. The Bulldogs would add a fourth goal in the 27th minute of the half for a 4-0 halftime lead.

The second half was more of the same. The Zizzers defended pretty well and moved the ball at times. Nick King did a nice job in goal the second half, allwing just one goal. That goal came in the 57th minute. Some good progress in picking up things from practice. Some things are new to the team and take time to llearn and become familiar with. It’s a work in progress. Keep working hard boys!

Next up for both teams will be games at home Thursday against Logan-Rogersville. JV starts at 5:00pm with Varsity to follow. This is a big game as Logan-Rogersville is the only team in our District that we play during the season.

Good News coming out of Buffalo, NY. Stuart Ziegler has been named a Medaille College Athlete of the Week for September 20.

Stuart was outstanding in a (2-0-0) week for the Mavs. He was the “man of the match” in both wins. He scored two goals and dished out one assist on the week and he had a hand in three of the Mavs four goals in their AMCC opening win over Franciscan

The Mavericks are off to a 7-0-1 start and have broken into the D3soccer.com Top 25 National Rankings at #21.

The Medaille College men’s soccer team broke into the D3Soccer.com Top 25 National Rankings after another unbeaten week. This weeks poll has Medaille ranked 21st nationally. The Mavs dispatched of Daemen College and Franciscan University this past week, scoring nine goals and only allowing one. Thus far the Mavs are (7-0-1) on the year and they are outscoring their opponents (34-3). This is the third highest ranking in program history, the 2006 squad was ranked 20th for several weeks and then elevated to a program best 16th later that season.

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Rankings have the Mavericks just outside the Top 25 (they received votes just short of the Top 25), while being #4 in the East Region.

Congrats to Stuart and the Mavericks!

(Photo by Steve ‘Ole’ Olson of SGFsoccer.com – From Friday’s Game against Neosho)

Although the Zizzers didn’t come away with any wins at the Parkview Viking Showdown, they were able to show some improvements in their play. On Friday night, West Plains faced off against the Neosho Wildcats in a game played at Kickapoo High School. It was a tale of two halves for the Zizzers in this one. Neosho dominated the first half. Brad Toomoth put Neosho up 1-0 in the 8th minute. Three minutes later, Jared Hill scored to make it 2-0. Hill added another goal in the 15th minute with an assist going to Toomoth. In the 32nd minute Xavier Ruiz made it 4-0 with Hill picking up the assist. The Zizzers did very little offensively until the last few minutes of the half when they were able to create a coupl of opportunities in front of the goal.

It looked like a new team in the red jerseys in the second half. The boys started playing better together and showing some of the things we have been working on in practice. instead of clearing balls downfield, they began to work to possess the ball work it around the field. As a result, we were able to create some opportunities, including a couple balls where the Neosho Keeper had to make good saves. Although the Zizzers didn’t put any balls in the net, the second half of the game was a step in the right direction.

Saturday morning, the Zizzers took on the Lebanon Yellowjackets, a team the Zizzers defeated 3-0 earlier this season. The danger in playing someone you have already beaten is that the players might take that for granted and not be ready to play. That wasn’t the case on Saturday. The Zizzers came out and played their most complete game of the season. The boys moved the ball around the field even better than they did in the second half on Friday night. In the first few minutes, Klay Norman was sent in on goal, but his shot hit the far post and bounced out. The Zizzers continued to play well on both sides of the ball, limiting the dangerous opportunities for the Yellowjackets and creating chances for themselves. About midway through the first half, the Zizzers were whistled for a handball, resulting in a direct free kick for Lebanon. The resulting kick went over the Zizzer wall and overthe outstretched hands of Keeper Logan Huff to give Lebanon a 1-0 lead. The Zizzers didn’t panic. They just kept playing the same way. With about five minutes left in the half, The Yellowjackets sent a long ball up on the counter attack. The second ball was sent behind the Zizzer defense. Gabriel Kenemer was able to get to the ball just before Logan Huff. Kenemer touched the ball into the goal for a 2-0 lead.

In the second half, the Zizzers kept moving the ball and creating chances. Another Zizzer shot hit the post, but that would be as close as they would get to a goal. Lebanon defended well and created a some chances of their own, putting one shot off the crossbar in the second half. The final score would be 2-0 in favor of the Yellowjackets. Both the Zizzers and the Yellowjackets played better in this game. This time it was the Yellowjackets who were able to find the net.

After losing the first two games of the tournament, the Zizzers faced a good young Kearney Bulldog team. The two teams met for the first last year in this tournament with Kearney prevailing 2-1. You never know what you are going to get in the third game of a tournament, where the boys are playing their third game in less than 24 hours and everybody is tired and banged up a little bit. The game was played on the turf at JFK Stadium. The Zizzers came out playing hard and gave a good effort throughout the game, but weren’t able to execute as effectively as they had in the previous games. A lack of communication and not maintaining good spacing defensively hurt the Zizzers in this game. Despite this, the Zizzers through hustle were able to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard until the 34th minute. The Bulldogs sent a ball in front of the goal where Josh Ellis pounded it home from close range to make it 1-0. A minute later, Kenan Roach found himself open around the top of the 18 yard box and fired a shot into the net. 2-0 would be the halftime score.

The Zizzers were able to get the ball done by the goal, but only had one chance where the Kearney Keeper had to make a big save. That came in the second half on a shot by Brodie Bender. Kearney added to their lead in the 48th minute as Roach picked up his second goal. Seven minutes later, Turner Ross sent a corner kick directly into the goal for a 4-0 lead. That would be all of the scoring in this one.

Despite losing all three games, the Zizzers made some progress, especially on the offensive side of the ball. They boys played hard throughout all three games. We still have work to do, but it was nice to see them executing the things we have been working on in practice. Next up will be games at Home on Tuesday against the Rolla Bulldogs. JV will begin at 5:00pm with the Varsity to follow.

Photo by Randy Hunt of R & R Photography

On what turned out to be a pretty miserable evening, the Waynesville Tigers came to town for an Ozark Conference Match. Waynesville came out on top in JV action by the score of 4-0. The teams played just one 40-minute half because the Zizzers were short players due to injuries and sickness. With players playing in new positions, the Zizzers struggled with communication and defensive positioning. Waynesville scored goals in the 8th, 20th, 29th, and 31st minutes.

Just as the JV game was wrapping up, lightning came. After about an hour and fifteen minute delay, the Varsity teams went back on the field. The Zizzers came out with one of their best defensive efforts of the season. After working on some new things in practice, the boys did a good job of putting them to use in the game. Hopefully things will continue to improve as people settle in to their roles and get comfortable with each other. More communication and keeping consistent spacing will help and those things will come with time.

Waynesville took a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute of play as Ben Moore sent a shot past Zizzer Keeper Louis Jones. Five minutes later, Moore would score again. The Zizzers would be able to keep the score 2-0 until the last two minutes of the half. Kevin Johnson would make it 3-0 in the 39th minute, scoring off a cross from near the endline. A minute later Karl Dupont would dribble past a couple of Zizzer defenders and fire a shot into the net for the final goal and a 4-0 lead. The game resumed after halftime, but just for a short time. In the second minute of the half, lightning returned and the game was called. The loss drops the Zizzers to 1-2 in Ozark Conference play and 1-4 Overall. Up next for the Varsity will be a game Friday against Neosho at Kickapoo High School as part of the Parkview Viking Showdown. They will also play two games on Saturday at Parkview.

(Picture by Steve Olson of SGFsoccer.com – Steve was out at the game taking some photos before heading over to the Glendale-Kickapoo game – Click on the photo to go to his flickr site to see more pictures from the game – Thanks Steve – there are also some pictures on the Catholic Soccer Website)

The Zizzers traveled to Springfield on Thursday to take on Springfield Catholic. Catholic finished 3rd in the State last season in Class 1 and returns a large number of players this year. The Irish wasted little time getting on the scoreboard with goals in the 6th, 7th, and 11th minutes all coming off of headers. The first goal was from Taylor Arens, assisted by Niko Temofeew. Justin Bowenschulte scored the second with an assist going to Taylor Arens. David Bailey scored #3 assisted by Niko Temofeew. Three minutes after scoring his first goal, Bailey added another one assisted by Taylor Arens. The last goal of the half was scored by Austin Lewis in the 23rd minute, assisted by Justin Bowenschulte.

The Zizzers had little success possessing the ball while Catholic moved the ball with ease. A lack of communication and a lack of aggressiveness in the air caused the Zizzers some problems. A bright spot in the game for the Zizzers was the defensive play of Dylan York.

In the second half, Catholic would add five more goals to end the game with about 2 minutes and 40 seconds left on the clock. Catholic’s sixth goal was scored by Justin Bowenschulte in the 51st minute, with an assist going to Luke Straus. Bowenschulte scored again in the 56th minute this time getting an assist from Nick Kofron. Austin Lewis would score the next two goals in the 62nd and 74th minutes. Max Holtmann assisted on the first one and the second was unassisted. The final goal of the game was scored by Connor Dahlberg with an assist from Luke Straus.

The Zizzers will look to regroup for next week as they return to action at Home on Tuesday against the Waynesville Tigers in an Ozark Conference matchup.

In JV action, Catholic came out on top 6-0. The Zizzers didn’t have the teamwork that they needed to be successful on this night. Catholic got on the board in the second minute of the game. Thomas Diebold gave Catholic the lead with an assist from Jim Hill. They made it 2-0 in the 15th minute, this time Jim Hill was assisted by Tim Brooks. Three minutes later, Jim Hill would score again assisted by Thomas Diebold. The final goal of the half came from Evan Craig in the 21st minute.

The Zizzers played a little more together in the second half. Catholic would add two more goal late in the half. Thomas Diebold scored with an assist by Nick Wiegers in the 59th minute. The final goal came from Evan Craig in the 67th minute with an assist by John Mullins. The JV will also look to regroup for Tuesday’s matchup with Waynesville.

The third time was the charm. After dropping the first two games of the season, the Varsity Zizzers came out on the winning side of Tuesday Night’s Ozark Conference Showdown with the Lebanon Yellowjackets. The Zizzers came out doing some good things offensively and showing better positioning defensively. An early Klay Norman shot was knocked off the post by the Lebanon Keeper to keep the game scoreless. In the 11th minute, Zack Dixon got the Zizzers on the scoreboard for the first time this season. Chris Polston found Dixon near the back post. Dixon sent a shot past the Lebanon Keeper for a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later, Norman carried the ball in and sent a shot inside the far post for a 2-0 lead. Despite some good opportunities, the Zizzers wouldn’t score any more in the first half. The halftime score was 2-0 thanks to a couple of big saves by Logan Huff and some good team defensive work.

In the second half, the Zizzers played a little better, making some better decisions. The lone goal of the half would come in the 611st minute. klay Norman received a crossing pass and fired a shot into the far corner to make it 3-0. The Zizzers weren’t able to capitalize on some good opportunities coming from some good crosses and a couple of free kicks. The defense was able to hold Lebanon off the scoreboard as Logan Huff earned the shutout. This was a nice team effort. They showed improvement in all phases of the game. We still have work to do, but this is a step in the right direction.

In JV action, Lebanon came out on top 3-1. The Zizzers started out playing well. Logan huff put the Zizzers up 1-0 in the 10th minute. After receiving a pass from Trevor Cressman, Huff’s shot found the back of the net. Four minutes later, Lebanon would tie the score with a goal from DJ Miiller. Lance LeFors would give the Yellowjackets the lead in the 20th minute. The final goal would come off a free kick in the 23rd minute. This was probably the best all around game for the JV so far. The JV game only lasted one half due to the small number of players available for both teams.

Next up for the Zizzers will be games against Catholic on Thursday. Those games will be played at the Cooper Soccer Complex in Springfield. We will play on Field #2. JV starts at 4:30pm with the Varsity game afterward.

Thursday’s game vs Springfield Catholic will be played at Cooper Field # 2 in Springfield.

The games on Tuesday against Lebanon have changed due to the number of players Lebanon has available. The Varsity Game will be played first and will start at 5:00pm. Following the Varsity game, one half of a JV Game will be played.