BULLDOGS BEAT THE WILDCATS 3-1

The Cats met a well rounded Kearney team tonight and fell 3-1. Kearney hit the scoreboard first with two goals in the first half coming in quick succession. Harrisonville's Kelsie Sumner scored their lone goal early in the second. The Cats were able to string together some great offensive play throughout the match but Kearney's quick counters and blazing forwards were difficult to contain.

SCHEDULE CHANGE

There has been a schedule change! The Wildcats were to play Smithville Friday night and that game has been cancelled and we will play Kearney tomorrow 4/30/09 at home. Kearney comes to us with a 14-2 record and sports the KC area's second leading scorer, Alex Massey, who currently has 26 goals on the season. The Cats will do well to shut down this scoring powerhouse and put some points on the board. Go Cats.

CATS DOWN OAK GROVE AT HOME

The Wildcats faced Oak Grove at home tonight on the turf field of Memorial Stadium. The Cats scored like a democrat votes, early and often, shutting out the Panthers 10-0 for the second time this season. The Cats are now 9-1-0 with only two goals against.

Scoring Summary

2 Kayla Birchfield
2 Karson Wilson
2 Anna Holden
1 Emily Buerge
1 Kelsie Sumner
1 Alex Erickson
1 Shalyn Wheeler

RAYTOWN PROVES A TOUGH TEST

The Wildcats looked to Raytown (8-2-0 ranked 8th in the Missouri Western Coaches Poll) this week to test them on the field as no team has done of late and test they did. Raytown's style of play was fast paced with clean passing and high pressure on defense. The Birds earned three yellow cards in the match while the Wildcats played a clean and physical game. The Cats rarely got more than a glimpse of the goal with the ball at their feet and failed to convert on those chances but created many great opportunities on the attacking end.

The Bluebirds countered quickly and searched our defense for an opportunity to score but found none until the final minute of regulation when a ball over the top from the midfield found the foot of Raytown's Paige Staples. With only one minute left to play, the one goal lead stood.

While a disappointing 1-0 loss for the Cats, the game was a great opportunity to prove they could hold their own against one of the better teams in the KC area. The defense held strong and Sara Clarke had many great saves in front of the net. The Cats, now 8-1-0 for the season, can take pride in the fact that this goal is only the second goal against them all season.

Next up...Oak Grove at home Tuesday at 5:00 PM. Go Cats!

BOLIVAR SETS THEIR SIGHTS HIGH

TWO CATS HIT THE TOP TEN

Two Harrisonville Wildcat forwards have made the top 10 in Kansas City area scoring. Alex Erickson and Anna Holden have scored 16 and 17 goals respectively so far this season. Try this link. You may have to register to see it. It's free.

OTHER SCORES AROUND THE DISTRICT

MONDAY NIGHT
Bolivar Liberators - 2
Warrensburg - 1
Boliver's Sarah Magana scored both goals for the winning side.

Marshfield Blue Jays - 2
West Plains Zizzers - 0


TUESDAY NIGHT
Marshfield Blue Jays - 0
Bolivar Liberators - 3

GRAIN VALLEY FALLS 10-0

Missouri River Valley Conference foe Grain Valley fell to the Cats 10-0 tonight. Too many goals to count. More later. This puts the Cats at 8-0 on the season with 61 goals for and only 1 against with 7 games in shutouts.

Next up...Raytown on the road Friday (at 4:00?). This should be a good test of the team.

We will face Smithville the following Friday in a matchup against the #2 ranked team in our Class.

CLINTON FALLS TO CATS AT HOME

Harrisonville continued their winning ways tonight in a 11-0 victory over the Clinton Cardinals.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Anna Holden 3 G - 2 A
AJ Erickson 2 G - 1 A
Kelsie Sumner 1 G
Emily Buerge 1 G - 3 A
Caitlyn Minick 1 G
Karson Wilson 1 G - 2 A
Kayla Birchfield 2 G - 2 A
Kaila Leipard 1 A

JV won their game 1-0 on a Kelsie Sumner goal.

Go CATS!

SCORES FROM AROUND THE DISTRICT

Marshfield Blue Jays - 2
Logan-Rogersville Wildcats - 0

Glendale Falcons - 9
West Plains Zizzers - 0

Springfield Catholic - 2
Bolivar Liberators - 0
Click here for a local report.

ODD FACTS

The Cats will face the Clinton Cardinals at home on Thursday. While this will be their second outing against a mascot of the bird family, the Holden Eagles being the first, this will be their first song bird. The Wildcats have fared well against other mascots of the cat family, the Tigers(Sedalia, Warrensburg and Excelsior Springs) and the Panthers (Oak Grove). I know.... I'm just a plethora of information.

SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL

Sunny skies welcomed the Cats home as they met the Excelsior Springs Tigers tonight in a Missouri River Valley Conference matchup. The Cats carried a 5-0 record into the match, all in shutouts. While they preserved their unbeaten streak, their shutout streak was broken as they allowed the Tigers to score one late in the second half before closing out the game with a final score of 11-1 with six minutes left on the clock. Great game ladies. Lots of great hustle and physical play but I was most impressed with the confidence and passing under pressure.

Goals and Assists for the game:

Anna Holden 4G - 1A
Karson Wilson 1G - 2A
Kayla Birchfield 1G - 2A
Alex Erickson 3G
Emily Buerge 1G

JV lost 0-3 with two goals coming in the second half. Judith got a bunch of good JV pictures. I didn't do so well tonight on the varsity game. They are downloading now. Enjoy.

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY!

The Cats had another game rained out tonight, the second time for this match up vs Platte County, a game rescheduled from their opening tournament of the season. Mother nature has intervened twice more this season with games against O'Hara and Marshall. No word yet whether (pardon the pun) this game will be rescheduled.

The Cats will face Conference foe Excelsior Springs at home tomorrow night. The Tigers recently won 6-3 vs Grain Valley and took a loss 3-0 vs a tough Kearney team in early April. Should be a good full field test of the Cat's game. Cross your fingers that the weather cooperates. Right now it is forecast as sunny and 60 degrees. Go Cats!

NEXT UP - PLATTE COUNTY PIRATES

The Cats will face the Platte County Pirates in the championship game of the Platte County Invitational Tournament on Monday, April 13th. The original game was rescheduled due to incliment weather. Platte County is a strong team, beating the Cats 6-2 in the finals of last years tourney. The Cats come to the final after accumulating a 5-0 start to the 2009 season, outscoring their opponents 29-0. Platte County's squad has the skill and tactics that will truly test the capabilities of the rock solid Harrisonville defensive unit. The Cat's offense need to focus on their first touch on the ball as the Pirates control the ball well and quickly close and cut off passing lanes when not in possession. Good luck ladies.

ALSO RAN

A few of the girls have been begged by the Harrisonville Track Coach to run track meets on days when soccer games don't coincide. Soccer takes first priority but it is a great opportunity to showcase their speed work. Kelsie and Jackie Sumner placed first and second in the 800 meter run of the Harrisonville Invitational Track Meet. Tina Harold and Shalyn Wheeler have also been pulling double duty.

CATS CONTINUE THEIR WINNING WAYS

The Wildcats won again on the road tonight 10-0 vs Oak Grove in the Panther's first varsity home game. The JV squads tied 2-2. Had to miss this one for work again but Jude got some photos (before her battery died an early death) and they are up on the photo link. Too many goals to list but a great total team effort.

I found a good article on the new soccer programs at Oak Grove and Grain Valley. It is great to see new teams coming into the area. Welcome and have a great season.

Check out the article on Oak Grove and Grain Valley Soccer here.

Update 4/14/09 - I got scores and assists from Coach Cook tonight.
Alex Erickson got an amazing 5 goals and one assist. Emily Buerge got two goals and three assists. Kayla Birchfield got two goals and three assists and Anna Holden got one goal.

GREAT WRITE UP IN THE LOCAL PAPER

The Cats had a great write up in the local paper; probably the best I've seen for a soccer game in this football town. Lots of great pictures too.

Check it out here.

DISTRICT 5 SCORES

Here are some recent scores in other Class 2 District 5 play. District 5 teams are in bold/italics.

Bolivar Liberators - 4
Marshfield Blue Jays - 0

Hillcrest Hornets - 6
Carl Junction Bulldogs - 0

West Plains Zizzers - 0
Poplar Bluff Mules - 8

Click here for a good article on Bolivar's 4-1 loss against Ozark Monday.

ROLLIN, ROLLIN, ROLLIN

The Cats beat the Holden Eagles 11-0 last night in their first Missouri River Valley Confence West game of the season. I wasn't able to make the game so I'll have to list the scoring later. Unbeaten and unscored on is not a bad way to start the season. Keep on rolling ladies! Next up, O'Hara.

If someone has pictures to post, send them to ksumner11@embarqmail.com