What a great day to play soccer. The games were moved to the turf at Junge Stadium in Joplin. The rain disappeared, and the conditions were perfect. It was a game where both teams had some chances to score, but neither could find the net. The game was back and forth, with each team carrying the play at times. As we got deeper and deeper into the game, the Lady Zizzers seemed to take more control. West Plains was more aggressive and seemed to have a little more gas left in the tank.
After 100 scoreless minutes, the game headed to a Penalty Kick Shootout. Joplin won the coin toss and elected to kick second. Katie Shannon was the first Lady Zizzer to kick and she calmly sent her shot into the corner of the net. Sammi Phegley saved Joplin’s first shot and West Plains was up 1-0 after the first round. Megan Lowe was next for the Lady Zizzers and she sent her shot into the side netting for the goal. #16 for Joplin scored her kick and West Plains was up 2-1 after the second round. Ashley Harris stepped up for the Lady Zizzers and she put her shot into the side netting as well. Joplin’s sent a shot that was destined to go just inside the post, but at the last second, Sammi Phegley dove and knocked it away. It was a GREAT save and West Plains was up 3-1 after three rounds. West Plains missed their fourth shot. Sammi Phegley made the save on Joplin’s fourth shooter to seal the win for the Lady Zizzers. The official score is 1-0 (PKs 3-1).
It was a nice to come away with the win. A great way to head into Districts. Nice job ladies! Desi Prantl and Shannon McGee came off the bench with their best performances of the season. It was a great effort by everyone. The Varsity improves to 8-12 on the season and 2-7 in the Ozark Conference. Next up will be a District game at 1:00pm Saturday at Bolivar against the Marshfield Lady Jays.
In the JV game, West Plains tied Joplin 0-0. The girls played hard and were trying to do things the right way. The game went back and forth. Saralyn Glascock made one big save in the first half to keep the score 0-0. A good team effort and a nice way to wrap up the regular season. The JV ends the season with a record of 2-9-2.
