WILDCATS IN THE NEWS

Update: News on the Sion game.


Wildcats Soccer District Win makes the local paper.

THE WALL

Update: OK my count was a bit off at first. Still not sure if they count tourney games.

By my count Sara Clarke (and her defense) had a stellar year to say the least. They took 6th in the ALL TIME Missouri record book for goals against average!

Goals-Against Average
Name.........School .............GA ......Min........ Avg.
Stacy Doerr, Union... ...........6...... 1520.........0.32
Maggie Winkler, Rockwood ....... 8...... 1960.........0.33
Natalie Kulla, Incarnate Word... 8...... 1691.........0.38
Amanda Erhardt, Lafayette ...... 8...... 1637.........0.39
Tori Champagne, Duchesne........ 8...... 1592.........0.40
SARA CLARKE, HARRISONVILLE...... 8...... 1600.........0.40
Kaylin Lobert, St. Joseph’s ... 10...... 1881.........0.43
Catherine Swift, Eureka........ 10...... 1487.........0.54

Check out all the stats here.

Girls played #1 ranked Notre Dame de Sion tonight for the state quarterfinal and fell 1-0. They kept it scoreless until early in the second half when Notre Dame de Sion finally broke through and put a rocket in from the top of the box. The Wildcats had a wonderful year, winning their first ever District Championship while posting some great stats to boot. 17-4-0, 14 shutouts, 98 goals for and only 8 goals against for the entire season. Way to go ladies. What a great season!

WILDCATS ARE DISTRICT CHAMPS!

Wildcats win Class 2 District 5 Championship Tournament knocking off defending Champs Bolivar 2-1. Goals were provided by AJ Erickson and Anna Holden. AJ scored off a set piece she bent over the wall, stretching the onion sack in the top right corner. Anna Holden scored on one of her many forays behind the Liberator defensive line. The stingy Wildcat defense held Bolivar to 1 goal which was an amazing goal from the Welch girl. She had a defender marking her with good pressure but still got off a wonderful shot on the run that slipped past the outreached fingers of our keeper. Sara Clarke made up for this goal in a big way when it counted most. With two minutes left to play, Sara shut down two goal line scrums and came away with the ball safely cradled in her arms. What a great game from two fantastic teams.

The Cats will face Notre Dame de Sion Wednesday for the state quarterfinals in Harrisonville at 6:00 PM. Click here for the full state championship bracket.

MORE DISTRICT CHAMP PICTURES

WILDCATS WIN 2-0 VS MARSHFIELD IN DISTRICT SEMFINALS

The Cats posted a 2-0 win vs Marshfield which secured their seat in the finals for the Class 2 District 5 Championship. AJ Erickson and Nikki Woodfin provided the goals while Sara Clarke and her impenetrable defensive unit secured their second shutout of the tournament.

The Cats will face the winner of tonight's Bolivar/Warrensburg match but foul weather is currently passing through the area so we will see if they get the game in and keep the tournament on it's (re)schedule for the tournament championship game tomorrow night.

The winner of the District 5 tournament will face the winner of the District 6 tourney. #3 seeded O'Hara has upset #2 seeded Pembroke Hill and will face #1 state ranked Notre Dame deSion in the finals tonight, weather permitting.

Photo ripped from SGFSoccer.com. He has a bunch of great pictures from the game so check em out and buy them if you like to help support one of the best soccer sites in the Midwest.

WILDCATS WIN FIRST ROUND OF DISTRICT VS CLINTON

The Cats played a determined Clinton team tonight and came away with a 8-0 win. Clinton showed spunk and spirit, holding the Cats to three goals in the first half after putting Ruskin out of the tournament with an 8-0 game just hours before. The Cats came back in the second half and added five more goals. The best one I can remember was a sweet header that Karson Wilson scored early in the second half. Alex Erickson served a perfect ball to Karson as she crossed the box making a run toward the near post corner. She was able to deftly turn and head the ball back to her right to the far side netting, beating the defenders and keeper who had swung to the right. I had tears in my eyes on that one. We sat behind a bunch of Clinton parents during the game and had a great time cheering for both teams. They even shared their Twizzlers with us. Awesome! Both teams played hard and went home knowing they gave it their all. Well done ladies!

Scoring:
2 Alex Erickson
2 Sara Keck
2 Karson Wilson
1 Kaley Harkrader
1 Shalyn Wheeler

I was having nightmares about the field with all the rain we've had lately but was pleasantly surprised with how well it looked and played. There were only a couple spots that looked like it slowed the ball down and the ladies adjusted well. Hoping the weather holds for Thursday and Friday games this week. Thanks to Bolivar and their volunteers for what I would assume was a ton of work to get the fields ready for the event.

I caught the last 20 minutes of the Marshfield vs West Plains game and it looked pretty even as far as possession went but Marshfield was able to capitalize on a few chances and put the game away. We will face them Thursday in the semifinal round. I don't think I'll be able to make that game but Judith may be able to make it and get some pictures.

BOLIVAR AND WARRENSBURG TO FACE OFF THURSDAY

Bolivar and Warrensburg both won their matches tonight and progress to the semifinal round of the District Championships Thursday in Bolivar. Thanks to Ole at SGF Soccer for the near real time game info.

Cats will face the winner of the Clinton vs Ruskin game tomorrow at 7:30 PM. GO CATS!

NEW DISTRICT SCHEDULE

With the fields a bit soupy this weekend, Districts have been rescheduled. Here is the new schedule.

Monday, May 17

4:30 p.m. Warrensburg vs Rogersville
6:30 p.m. Bolivar vs Carl Junction

Tuesday, May 18

4:00 p.m. Clinton vs Ruskin
5:45 p.m. West Plains vs Marshfield
7:30 p.m. Harrisonville vs Clinton/Ruskin winner

Thursday, May 20

4:30 p.m. Harrisonville/Clinton/Ruskin winner vs West Plains/Marshfield winner
6:30 p.m. Bolivar/Carl Junction winner vs Warrensburg/Rogersville winner

Friday, May 21

6:00 p.m. District Final

CATS FINISH OUT THE REGULAR SEASON WITH A 10-0 SHUTOUT VS GRAIN VALLEY

Cats win big vs the Grain Valley tonight, shutting out the Eagles 10-0 on the road. Pictures and scoring to follow.

QUICK NOTES

My schedule has been crazy lately and I haven't been able to post. Thought I'd just drop a couple quick notes to catch up.

The girls had two games this week. They played Excelsior Springs on the road and came away with a 2-0 victory. Anna Holden scored both goals and Sara Clarke earned the shutout.

The Cats faced Holden at home on Thursday and came away with a 7-0 win. Maria Sanchez scored two goals while Rynard, Keck, Eghbali, Harkrader and Herndon all scored a goal a piece. The shutout was secured by Rebecca Lokits.

WILDCAT SOCCER HONORS HARRISONVILLE SPECIAL OLYMPICS

The Wildcat Soccer Team wore special jerseys tonight signed by members of the award winning Harrisonville Special Olympics Track Team who will be competing in a local meet in Archie. Team members were honored during a half time ceremony followed by games and soccer skills on the field. All proceeds from the concessions tonight went to support the track team for the upcoming meet.

CATS FALL 3-2 IN BATTLE WITH PEMBROKE HILL

The Cats fell to Pembroke Hill 3-2 tonight despite leading in scoring twice in the game. Two of Pembroke's three goals came off penalty kicks; the last with less than 5 minutes to play in the second half. Defenseman Tina Harold was first on the scoreboard finding room to get her head up and put a ball on frame early in the first half. Anna Holden broke through the defense on a blazing run in the second half and slipped a sweet pass to Alex Erickson for Harrisonville's other goal. Offensively the Cats found opportunities through and around Pembrokes defense and played one of their better games this season against a disciplined side. While dissappointed with the loss, the girls came away healthy and look forward to Excelsior Springs on Tuesday.

PICTURES ARE ALL POSTED ON THE ALBUM NOW.

DISTRICT SEEDING IS IN

I have an unconfirmed report that district seeding is in and the Cats have received the much deserved #1 seed. Official seeding and brackets should be posted soon. Way to go CATS!!!

1. Harrisonville
2. Bolivar
3. Warrensburg
4. West Plains
5. Marshfield
6. Logan-Rogersville
7. Carl Junction
8. Clinton
9. Ruskin

Schedule ripped from Springfield Soccer. Thanks Ole.

All Games will be played at Bolivar

Friday, May 14
Clinton vs Ruskin

Saturday, May 15
9am – #2 Bolivar vs #7 Carl Junction
11am – #3 Warrensburg vs #6 Logan-Rogersville
1pm – #4 West Plains vs #5 Marshfield
3pm – #1 Harrisonville vs Clinton/Ruskin Winner

Monday, May 17
4:30pm – Harrisonville/Clinton/Ruskin Winner vs West Plains/Marshfield Winner
6:30pm – Bolivar/Carl Junction Winner vs Warrensburg/Logan-Rogersville Winner

Wednesday, May 19
6:00pm – Final

CATS DOWN OAK GROVE 5-0

The Wildcats met the Oak Grove Panthers on the road tonight and came away with a 5-0 shutout. The Cats altered their lineup a bit as some of our normal starters were out with school functions or recovering from injuries. Some fresh faces stepped in and stepped up for a wonderful display of soccer. They played with poise and compassion throughout the field and I was impressed with many of our young freshmen players. Kaley Harkrader had a great night, putting two in the net and threatening on a couple more shots on goal. Karson Wilson scored with a header off Alex Erickson's perfectly placed corner and followed it later by running onto and touching home a dropped ball off Kelsie Sumner's free kick. Kelsie scored herself when she caught the Panther keeper well off her line and chipped her from 40 yards out. The Panther offense was not asleep tonight and tested the Wildcat defense on several occasions. Sara Clark came out aggressively off her line and won two ball within reach of an attacking forward. Another scoring opportunity was squashed with a perfectly timed tackle by Bree Loveall in the center of the box. While the home crowd cried foul, the ref thankfully saw it just the way I did; all ball. A great game and a good time on a beautiful night. Well played ladies!

CATS LOOK TO LATE SEASON SCHEDULE TO EARN DISTRICT TOP SEED

District Championship seeding will likely be set soon but has yet to be released. With a 10-2 record and their only losses to Platte County (#5 in state rankings) and Kearney (#14) the Cats are looking to late season match ups with some top ranked teams to set it apart in a quest for the #1 seed in the District Championships coming up May 15th.

The 1-0 early season game vs Platte County (16-1) showcased a tenacious Harrisonville defense. The Cats find themselves in rare company as they are joined by 7th ranked Smithville and 12th ranked Staley in holding Platte County to one point in a match.

The Cats defeated last year's district finalist Warrensburg 3-1 in early season play this year but 2009 district champion Bolivar matched the score a week ago. Not to be out done, Warrensburg took third place in tournament play over the weekend against some ranked teams. Bolivar's schedule includes many district foes and their record sets a high mark to match. The Liberators will face Rogersville and Marshfield, two fellow district 5 teams, in conference and tournament play in the coming week.

The Cats will face both 8th ranked Pembroke Hill and 2nd ranked Notre Dame de Sion (NDDS) in the coming weeks before districts. Pembroke Hill's 4-7 record hides the fact that they have faced one of the toughest schedule of opponents I've seen next to the NDDS. The Cats will face Pembroke at home this year and will do well to repeat their 1-0 victory from last season.

The NDDS Storm (8-2-2) has an even more impressive schedule of top teams from the region and a winning record to boot. The Cats last faced NDDS May 14th, 2008 in a 6-1 loss in the 2008 district championship game.

All this being said, seeds mean nothing when it comes to districts as it all comes down to playing every game like it was your last come tournament time.

OAK GROVE NEXT UP ON THE ROAD

Cats head out on the road tomorrow night for a conference match vs the Oak Grove Panthers. Oak Grove, 6-7 on the season, has gone 4-3 since our last meeting April 6th at Harrisonville's Memorial Field where the Cats won 7-0, shutting out Haley Hayes and the rest of the Panther offense. They coming off a 2-0 win over Van Horn on Friday.

WILDCATS LAST REMAINING DISTRICT 5 TEAM IN CLASS 2 POLL

Class 1
1 St. Vincent (8) 107
2 Springfield Catholic (3) 100
3 St. Pius (Festus) 86
4 Trinity 59
5 Southern Boone 57
6 Sacred Heart 48
7 St. Pius (KC) 28
8 Principia 26
9 Greenwood 21
10 Barstow 19
Kennedy 17, John Burroughs 15, Bishop LeBlond 12, Whitfield 6, Lutheran North 2, Orchard Farm 2

Class 2
1 St. Dominic (9) 108
2 Notre Dame de Sion (2) 101
3 Notre Dame (STL) 86
4 Visitation 68
5 Platte County 60
6 Moberly 47
6 Smithville 47
8 Pembroke Hill 26
9 Villa Duchesne 19
10 Rosati-Kain 12
Others: Duchesne 11, Staley 8, St. Charles West 7, Kearney 5, Harrisonville 1

Class 3
1 St. Joe’s Academy (9) 149
2 Incarnate Word Academy (1) 131
3 Liberty 130
4 Hazelwood West 117
5 Lafayette 108
6 St. Teresa’s Academy 87
7 Cor Jesu 80
8 Ursuline 78
9 Lee’s Summit North 60
10 Francis Howell North 58
11 Nerinx Hall 36
12 Truman 34
13 Rockwood Summit 30
14 Park Hill South 26
15 Marquette 15
Others: Jackson 14, Lee’s Summit West 10, Parkway South 9, Ray-Pec 8, Jeff City 6, Ft. Zumwalt West 6, Glendale 4, Lindbergh 2, Parkview 1

CATS FALL IN A SHOOT OUT WITH KEARNEY

Kearney came to Harrisonville tonight for a much needed battle. They brought a disciplined offense and a tight defense that was able to shut down most of the Cat's offensive runs in the first half. The second half saw the Cats open up and play with more control through the midfield but we were unable to capitalize on the opportunities we had on goal. The defense held through both halves but one point blank shot tested Sara Clarke. She came up huge with a one handed reaction save to her right to push the contest to overtime. While Kearney controlled possession through the first half and had a slight advantage through the second half, the Cats pressed hard in the two ten minute overtime periods. Both teams failed to score in overtime and forced the game to a shoot out that went through two rounds of five each with Kearney coming away with win after eight. This was a hard fought game against a team who has recorded two other shootout wins (Ozark and Eureka) in the last week and a half. It was good to see the girls tested like this and I think they came away a better team for it. Great game ladies!

Go Cats!

WILDCATS WIN 3-0 VS GRAIN VALLEY

The Cats blanked the Eagles 3-0 in a wonderful full sided game. The Cats commanded the field and took the full game and moved it with ease through defense and midfield in hopes of drawing the bunkered Grain Valley defense out. Sara Clarke made a great sliding save in the second half to preserve the shutout. Scoring for the evening was provided by Alex Erickson, Karson Wilson and a sweet header by Kayla Harkrader. Well done ladies. I had tears in my eyes this was so beautiful. Tonight; Kearney. GO CATS

CATS TO HOST GRAIN VALLEY AND KEARNEY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY

The Cats face Grain Valley tomorrow night and Kearney on Wednesday in what should be a good test of the offensive and defensive units. Kearney is currently 8-2 on the season. Their two losses have come at the hands of Platte County and Staley, both quality sides. Check out Kearneys game results here. Kearney came away with a 3-1 victory in last year's match up with Harrisonville. Kelsie Sumner scored the lone goal for the Harrisonville side.

CATS BLANK CLINTON 10-0

The Wildcats racked up a huge district win vs Clinton last week. Anna Holden scored her second 5-goal game of the season, blowing past her 2009 season total of twenty goals with weeks left in the 2010 season. A host of other players tallied goals in the game. Defender, Kelsie Sumner scored her first goal of the season from a booming midfield venture.

Scoring
5 Anna Holden
2 Alex Erickson
1 Anisa Alexander
1 Kelsie Sumner
1 Kaley Harkrader

2010 EARLY SEASON COACHES POLL

Coach's poll is out. Check it out on Ole's soccer blog.

CATS WIN 5-1 VS EXCELSIOR SPRINGS

Short post today. The girls played a great Excelsior Springs team last night. The Tigers had a controlling midfield and moved the ball well but fell prey to the Cat's offensive power and defensive control. The Cats couldn't keep the Tiger's Kara Collins from scoring a goal but found many opportunities to break behind the defense and score. Anna Holden and Alex Erickson scored two goals a piece and Karson Wilson added one more. Anna has scored two or more goals for the past 6 games and Kara Collins' goal snapped a five game shutout streak by Sara Clarke and the Cat's defensive unit. Next up, the Cat's play Clinton on the road Thursday. Go Cats!

Pictures are uploading.

KU AND WIZARDS WIN

KU WINS 2-1 AND WIZARDS WIN 1-0...MORE LATER!

NEXT UP EXCELSIOR SPRINGS

The Cats face Excelsior Springs Tuesday night at home. The Tigers are currently 3-2 for the 2010 season.

Mon 03/22/10 @ Platte County Invitational Staley L 0 - 5
Wed 03/24/10 @ Platte County Invitational Oak Grove W 4 - 0
Fri 03/26/10 @ Platte County Invitational MICDS W 2 - 0
Wed 03/31/10 @ Kearney High School L 1 - 5
Fri 04/09/10 Holden W ?

CATS BATTLE OAK GROVE AND THE WIND

The Cats faced a brisk wind and the Oak Grove Panthers tonight. The game was 7-0 Cats before the weather turned foul and was called due to lightning with 10 minutes left in the second half.

Scoring:

3 Alex Erickson
2 Anna Holden
1 Shalyn Wheeler
1 Anisa Alexander
Shutout by Sara Clarke


JV won 5-0.

2 Baer
2 Lexi Eghbali
1 Parker
Shutout by Lokits

Pictures - Mostly JV. Got dark quick.

KU Women's Soccer to Face St. Louis Saturday before KC Wizards Game

The KU Women's team will play at the Wizards’ Community America Ballpark/Stadium at 3:00 PM on Saturday April 10th. The Jayhawks-Billikens contest will precede the 7:30 PM Kansas City Wizards-Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer match.

Update!!!!! There are individual grass berm tickets for $15. Your Wizards game ticket will also get you into the KU game!

CAT SHUT OUT MARSHALL 7-0

Game photos here.

Scoring info:

2 Anna Holden
2 Alex Erickson
1 Shalyn Wheeler
1 Niki Woodfin
1 Anisa Alexander

NEXT UP MARSHALL

The Cats face the Marshall Lady Owls at home tomorrow night. The Owls have lost two straight home games to start their season; one of which was 1-0 in overtime vs Fulton. They look to turn things around with a win at Harrisonville's Memorial Stadium against a resolute Wildcat defense. Game on!

Marshall vs Booneville

OTHER DISTRICT SOCCER NEWS

Warrensburg 2-0 vs Springfield Central

Still looking for Bolivar's Thursday night results vs Branson. Ole of Springfield Soccer has heard reports that Bolivar won 4-0 or 8-0. He has yet to get a confirmation by the coach.

Bolivar 3-1 win vs Marshfield

Bolivar 3-1 loss to Ozark

Bolivar will host Wilard at Monday, April 5, and go back on the road for Rogersville on Tuesday, April 6.

CATS WIN 6-0 VS O'HARA

The Cats hit the road tonight for a much anticipated game vs the O'Hara Celtics. I wasn't able to make the game but Judith caught the second half. The Celtics held the Cats to two goals in the first half. The offense reset during the halftime intermission and doubled down on scoring for the second half; finishing 6-0 while the powerhouse Harrisonville defense racked up yet another shutout with Sara Clarke minding the net. Anna Holden scored an amazing 5 goals in the game and Shalyn Wheeler scored one more for good measure. Anna's 5 goals not only tied the current school record for most goals in a game but her cumulative 13 goals for the season leads the Kansas City area.

O'HARA NEXT UP

O'Hara plays Harrisonville's varsity squad on the road tomorrow at 4:00 PM. The Celtics could be in high spirits after their Tuesday night game against the Warrensburg Tigers. MO Soccer Coach has the game listed as a 2-1 PK win for O'Hara while the KC Youth Soccer Net has the game listed as a 1-1 tie. Last season, the Tigers beat the Celtics 3-1 in early and late season games. In any case, O'Hara, 4-18 on last season, has come out strong against a quality Warrensburg side and should pose a potent opponent for the Cats tomorrow night. Game on! Go Cats!

Update: The Tigers played the Celtics 1-1 in regulation and went to overtime and a shootout where O'Hara took the match 4-3. A great battle by two good teams. Check out Warrensburg's write-up here.

HOLDEN COMES TO HARRISONVILLE FOR AN UNEXPECTED HOME OPENER

The Wildcats were to go on the road tonight for their second match in as many nights but met the Holden Eagles for an unexpected Harrisonville home opener as Holden's field was still soggy with all the wet weather. The Cats scored 11 before play was stopped at the end of the first half. Anna Holden scored her first hat trick of the season, putting her in a four way tie for first place in the KC Scoring Leaders Alex and Alex (Erickson and Herndon) both scored two on the night and Anisa Alexander, Karson Wilson, Madison Allen and Kaley Harkrader all tallied one goal a piece.

On a side note. The weather was BE-A-UTIFUL so it was a great time to break out the new grandson and introduce him to the beautiful game.

Picture are downloading now.

CATS WIN EARLY SEASON MATCH VS WARRENSBURG

The Cats came away with another early season win vs the Warrensburg (15-6-1 last year) on Monday night. The manicured natural grass field still seemed a bit awkward at first to the Cats who are playing a majority of their games on turf these days. The wet weather and soft ground slowed the ball speed a bit but the girls adjusted nicely and found many opportunities to drop balls in behind the defense to our speedy forwards. Anna Holden scored two and Alex Erickson scored one.

Warrensburg's lone goal came as a ball was passed in to near the right post, striking a defender and dropped dead in front of the box where it was poked home by on rushing Kendra Fox. I did notice one addition to the Warrensburg attack this game. The Tigers have added flip throws to their arsenal after watching Bolivar rain down balls into their box from the potent throw-ins in last year's 3-0 loss in the District finals. While the Tigers failed to score off these balls in this match, they were nearly successful a couple times.

I was pleasantly surprised with the tough but fair play I witnessed on the field and the positive comments from fans and coaches on both sides. Pictures from the match are posted.

Here is a write up from a Warrensburg digital news source.

CATS TAKE SECOND AT PLATTE COUNTY TOURNAMENT

The Wildcats played well against the offensive power house of Platte County High School on Saturday in the Championship game. While the loss was disappointing for the girls, it was a telling 1-0 defeat. Platte County went 24-1 last season falling to Smithville in their Class 2 District 7 semifinal last year. The Pirates are currently ranked 10th in the state in the high school preseason coaches poll. This would have been the third straight year that the teams would meet in the tournaments championship game except last year's game was canceled twice for rain.

The Pirates attacked with ease throughout the game but the Cats were able to find space and threatened a few times with shots on goal and through balls behind the air tight defense. Karson Wilson thought she had tied the game in the second half but it was called back for offsides. Whitney Smith scored the Pirates winning goal and Alisha Hoskins earned the well deserved shutout.

While not the result they had hoped for, this game showed the girls can play great soccer against great teams. They stayed focused on the defensive side and really hustled all over the field. It is still early in the season so there is plenty of time to work on finding space against high pressure teams and working the ball out of the back when transitioning off defense. We have a great crop of new talent coming up and they are starting to fit nicely with the rest of the team veterans.

I was really impressed with the quality of the Platte County side and had a wonderful time at the tournament throughout the week. Great teams, coaching, fans...heck even the refs were nice. And if you didn't already know, "Official time is kept on the field". :-)

It was a pleasure to see Chris Miller (former H'ville coach and current Platte County Middle School Principal) and his son Zane at the tourney. Chris caught me on facebook and wrote the following:

"It was great seeing you and the girls. It is so cool to see them all grown up and doing well. It is also great to see that the program is progressing nicely and fielding quality teams from year to year. The game was a good one for both teams. I know the Hville girls were disappointed with the late offsides call which negated their goal. Either way I think they surprised our girls and kept them off balance the entire game. Both teams were in it until the last whistle and both had some chances. Maybe we will run into each other at another game. Take care!"

Thanks for a wonderful tourney.

CATS TOP SAVANNAH

The Wildcats topped the Savannah Savages 5-0 in the second round of the Platte County Soccer Tournament. The team showed it's depth tonight with five goals from five girls. Scoring was shared by Anna Holden, Alex Erickson, Karson Wilson, Shalyn Wheeler and Anisa Alexander. The stingy defense held strong and is beginning to play with more poise out of the back. Sara Clarke earned her second shutout in as many games. I'm VERY impressed with many of our young players that have come in this season. They show a great level of play walking in the door.

I stayed over for the second game to get a sense of who we might end up playing on Saturday (1:00 PM) and caught the Platte County Pirates vs the Staley Falcons. The first 10 minutes had me thinking this would be a blowout as the Pirates dominated play and pummeled the Falcons with shots. And then it was like someone took the hood off the Falcon as these girls came alive and just flat brought it! It was a great game with lots of quality soccer on both side; physical but clean. Both teams moved the ball well through their defense and midfield but the Pirates seemed to have a better time of it through the attacking third and put more shots on goal. The score was 1-0 Pirates at the half when I left but the way it was going, I'd hate to count the Falcons out. I'm looking forward to playing either of them. The Cats will face the winner at 1:00 PM on Saturday. Go Wildcats!






More Pictures are downloading now at the online photo album (see link on the right side of the page)

WILDCATS WIN SEASON OPENER

The Cats opened the season on a good foot last night as they bested Benton High School 6-0 in the first round of the Platte City High School Soccer Tournament. Karson Wilson tallied a hat trick; Anna Holden got two and Alex Erickson got one and a couple assists. Sara Clarke and the rest of the Cat's defensive unit earned their first shut-out of the season. I was very impressed to see an improved Wildcat air battle as they scored at least two goals off set play headers. The game was highlighted by some great sportsmanship by both sides and superb officials on the field. Sorry no pictures from the game; someone who shall remain nameless forgot the camera on the table at home.

I stuck around to watch the first half of the following game as we would be playing the winner on Thursday. MICDS was playing Savannah. The 2-1 score at half did not reflect the control and possession the Rams commanded on the field. It did however reflect Savannah's opportunistic scoring power and quick counters. I thought twice about staying for the second half but with an hour drive home yet to come, I assumed the Ram's would prevail....wrong. Read the full story below from the MICDS results page. Everything they say about Savannah's keeper is true. She had at least three amazing saves I saw myself and then to come back and get the game winner in the shootout is just icing on the cake.

Click here for last year's write up of the Cat's opening game vs Savannah.

"Rams Fall in Penalty Kicks

The Rams opened the season with a 3-2 loss in a penalty kick shootout to Savannah High School. Despite controlling the play for much of the game, and outshooting the Savages by a 10-5 margin, the Rams were thwarted by a strong Savannah goalkeeper. Chloe Ferris scored 4 minutes in off of a cross from Katherine Spataro, and in the 18th minute the Rams made it 2-0 on a goal by Claire Ringenberg from a pass by Sydney Saunders. Savannah cut the lead to 2-1 with a well placed shot from 25 yards out and tied the game in the second half on a scuffed shot that managed to find the corner of the net through a maze of players from both teams. The Rams continued to put on the pressure the entire game, but several spectacular saves were made in regulation and overtime to keep the Rams at 2 goals. In the PK shootout Katherine Spataro and Claire Ringenberg both scored, but Savannah scored three times including the game winner from their keeper. Players of the game were, #3 Izzy Howerton, #2 Frances Jones and #1 Claire Ringenberg."

2010 SEASON KICKOFF

Wildcats start their 2010 season tomorrow night vs Benton High School (St. Joseph)at the Platte County Tournament.