(Photo by Randy Hunt of R & R Photography)
The Parkview Vikings completed an undefeated run through the Ozark Conference on Tuesday as they knocked off the West Plains Lady Zizzers 3-0. This is the first time Parkview has captured the Ozark Conference Championship in Girls Soccer. The win gives Parkview an overall record of 15-3 on the season.
Parkview had the better of the play early on, putting a lot of pressure on the Lady Zizzer defense. On a counter attack in the first 10 minutes, West Plains had a great chance to take an early lead as Tasha Ugbah broke in on the left side, but her shot sailed wide of the goal. Melanie Allen would put Parkview ahead 1-0 at the 12:06 mark as she redirected a corner kick near the edge of the 6-yard box. Neither team could find the net the rest of the half as the Vikings 1-0 lead would hold up.
In the second half, Jessica Maerz wasted little time adding to Parkview’s lead. Kelsey Loderhose dropped a ball back to Maerz who made it 2-0 just 1:58 into the half. The Vikings were the more energetic team and they created more opportunities than West Plains. The Lady Zizzers weren’t able to capitalize on the chances they did create. We were a little slow playing some balls that might have proven to be more dangerous than they ended up being.
Amanda Leckrone finished the scoring from the edge of the 6-yard box at 28:09 of the second half. Lady Zizzer Courtney Cox and a Viking player were locked in a battle for the a ball (pictured) that came across to the far post. The ball popped free to Leckrone, whose shot eluded Sammi Phegley who was screened on the play. That’s how it would end, 3-0 in favor of the Vikings, 2010 Ozark Conference Champions. West Plains falls to 7-12 on the season and 1-7 in the Ozark Conference.
In the JV game, Parkview topped the Lady Zizzers by the score of 2-1. Ashley Smith scored for West Plains 1:36 into the game, a nice present for the Birthday girl. Five minutes later, Parkview drew level on a shot by Marie Maize that bounced off Shannon McGee’s hands. It was a good game that went back and forth. The score would remain 1-1 at halftime.
Just 2:03 into the second half, Parkview sent a shot over the head of Suzee Tullos for what proved to be the game winning goal. Both teams played hard, but there would be no more scoring in this one. West Plains falls to 2-9-1 on the season.
Next up for West Plains will be a trip to Joplin on Thursday for the last Regular Season games. The Lady Zizzers will open District play Saturday at Bolivar as they take on Marshfield at 1:00pm.
