Soccer

Host sites and classification are set for spring sports. --- Baseball districts are slated to begin May 15. Host Cooter will compete with Naylor, Richland, Risco, and Southland in Class 1, District 1. Cooter is ranked No. 3 in Class 1 Host Bell City will compete with Advance, Delta, Leopold, Oak Rige, and Oran in Class 1, District 2. Oran is ranked No. 1, Advance is ranked No. 7, and Bell City is ranked No. 9 in Class 1...

SIKESTON — Don’t let their record fool you. Even though the Sikeston girls' soccer team is 1-4 on the season, the inexperienced Lady Bulldogs have found a way to stay in games that many thought would be over by halftime. Since an 8-0 loss to Perryville on March 27, Sikeston has improved by leaps and bounds, and Lady Bulldogs' head coach Gabe Dement is well aware of that...

POPLAR BLUFF — Away from Mules Stadium, the Poplar Bluff soccer team has lost just once and averaged nearly 3 1/2 goals in seven games. But the Mules are still looking for their first goal at home following a second 3-0 loss, this time against Valley View (Ark.) on Tuesday...

The Jackson girl's soccer team improved to 4-1 on the season with a 2-0 shutout of Northwest Thursday. Katelyn Miller and Grace Crowden scored the two goals, while Justi Nelson assisted on both. Junior goaltender Brooke Gerau recorded her fourth shutout in a row...

Cape Central senior soccer player Emma Winkler signed a letter of to play soccer at Mineral Area College on Thursday. Shown at the ceremony are (seated, from left) grandfather, Brad Altenthal; mother, Melissa Winkler; Emma; father, Chris Winkler; and grandmother, Karen Altenthal. (Standing, from left) sister, Brynn Winkler; MIneral Area College coach, Dan Martin; Cape Central head soccer coach, Jared Dobbs; assistant soccer coach, Greg Jones; brother, Tate Winkler; and brother, Aiden Winkler...

Following a year of missing out on gathering with friends and family due to the COVID pandemic, everyone, including sports fans, is anxious to spend time with those closest to us once again.

BENTON, Mo. — Through the first two matches this season, the Sikeston girls soccer team found itself on the opposite side of the win-loss column. However, on Wednesday night, the Lady Bulldogs were the ones to hand out the loss instead of receiving it...

SIKESTON — For the ninth-straight time, the Sikeston girls soccer team couldn't find a way to defeat Notre Dame. However, with a group that is still trying to gain more cohesion with each other, Sikeston (0-3) did manage to hold its own against a talented and senior-led Notre Dame (3-0) squad at the Sikeston Recreation Complex on Tuesday. Notre Dame — the defending Class 2 state champions — ended up winning the match 2-0...

After a season-opening loss to Parkway West, the Jackson girl's soccer team won their fourth game in a row, defeating Saxony Lutheran, 3-0. Seniors Katelyn Miller and Ivy Guilliams scored goals in the contest, while junior Caroline Rivenburgh added a goal of her own...

The Jackson girl's soccer team recorded their second and third wins of the season Saturday, defeating the Helias Catholic Crusaders, 7-0, then shutting out Marquette later in the day, 1-0. Katelyn Miller led the Indians with three goals in the first game against Helias Catholic, while Maci Wendel, Justi Nelson, Grace Crowden, and Olivia Ward each recorded one goal...

Five days ago, the Sikeston girls soccer team competed in a jamboree against a team that they would play days after leaving the field. With a younger and inexperienced group on his side, Lady Bulldogs' head coach Gabe Dement knew the caliber of opponent Perryville (2-0) was...

CAPE GIRARDEAU — Poplar Bluff extended its shutout streak to 210 minutes with a pair of wins Saturday at the Noon Optimist Tournament. The Mules, who opened the tournament Friday with a win over Sikeston, beat Saxony Lutheran 2-0 then edged Hillsboro 1-0 on a penalty kick by Zoe Savat with 18 1/2 minutes remaining...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — The Sikeston girls soccer team fell to Poplar Bluff on the first day of the Noon Optimist Club Tournament Friday. The Lady Bulldogs lost 2-0, with the Mules' goals credited to senior Zoe Savat and sophomore Lily Johnson. “Today’s match was back-and-forth,” Sikeston head coach Gabe Dement said. ...

WEST PLAINS, Mo. — Olivia Carda had a hat trick, Zoe Savat added a pair of goals and Nevaeh Larkins earned her second shutout Tuesday night as Poplar Bluff earned a road win. Three different players scored first-half goals for the Mules in a 6-0 win at West Plains a night after being shut out...

Sixteen seconds after the opening kickoff the Mules soccer team was down a goal Monday night. Poplar Bluff’s home opener didn’t get off to a very good start with Seckman scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes, but the Mules didn’t give up a goal over the final 50 in a 3-0 loss to the Jaguars...

The Jackson girl's soccer team won their match Monday against Kelly, 8-0, to even their record on the season at 1-1. Senior Grace Crowden led the Indians with three goals scored, followed by Justi Nelson's two goals. Fellow senior Brooke Thompson and Kate Emmendorfer each scored one goal each along with junior Caroline Rivenburgh added a goal to round out the scoring...

POTOSI, Mo. — Jadarius Pigg won all four of his events Friday, sweeping the hurdles and beating a teammate in the long jump, as the Poplar Bluff track and field team won 11 in all to claim the Trojan Invitational. The Mules took the top two spots in five events, winning the team title by 73 points in the season-opening meet...

Senior forward/midfielder Lexi Grote scored the only goal in the game in the 79th minute of the contest to give SEMO a 1-0 shutout win Friday at Houck Field. The win improves the Southeast Missouri women’s soccer team record to 5-0 on the season and 5-0 in OVC play...

The Jackson girls soccer team lost their season opener on the road against Parkway West Friday, 2-1. Senior Olivia Ward scored the only goal in the game for the Indians. as Justi Nelson earned the assist. Goaltender Brooke Gerau had eight saves in the match, but did allow the two goals that sealed Jackson's fate...

SIKESTON — May 14, 2018, was the last time the Sikeston girls’ soccer team stepped onto the pitch for a competitive match. Now, after a 2019 season that the Lady Bulldogs didn’t have — and one filled with optimism — head coach Gabe Dement’s squad is back and ready for the challenge, even though many question marks surround the roster...

The Poplar Bluff girls soccer team is looking to get a little defensive this spring as the Mules return from a lost season. “We’re going to try to get better defensively this year and just try to keep games close and try to stay in games,” Mules coach Rusty Crafton said...

Teenagers are under enough pressure in life. Social pressure, academic pressure, peer pressure, and such. Jackson senior Luke Mirly isn’t immune to any of that.

It remains unclear as to what the intentions of the late (and oh, so great) Johnny Cash were in heading to “Jackson,” but one thing is for certain if he would have visited the town of that name in Southeast Missouri he had better have been prepared to see something victorious (and to fight traffic on a Friday night).

SPRINGFIELD – The people of Southeast Missouri may scoff at the notion of referring to any Jackson athletic program as being an underdog. However, that is precisely what the Indians were when they took to the pitch Saturday at the Lake Country Soccer at Cooper Family Complex in Springfield for the MSHSAA Class 4 Boy’s Soccer State Final.

A common theme throughout the Jackson High School athletic program is success and that starts at the top of each team. You don’t get hired to lead an athletic squad at this school if you aren’t capable of being at the top of your profession.

SPRINGFIELD – Notre Dame came into Friday’s MSHSAA Class 3 Soccer State Finals having allowed five goals throughout its entire 17-game season, while Fort Zumwalt South was averaging more than five goals per game throughout its postseason.

The Notre Dame boy’s soccer team will aim for their first state title since 2007 when the Bulldogs take on Ft. Zumwalt South in the Class 3 state championship game Friday at 6 p.m. at Lake Country Soccer/Cooper Family Complex in Springfield. For the entire Bulldogs defensive unit, this will be their final battle. Five seniors, including goalkeeper Conner Westrich and midfielder Evan Bruenderman, have been locking down the defensive side of the ball for four years...

The Jackson boy’s soccer squad has played three double-overtime games in the past 17 days of its arduous postseason journey. Comparatively speaking, the Indians’ opponent in today’s MSHSAA Class 4 state championship game (St. Dominic) has played just three one-goal games in the past month.

Sophomore soccer star Will Dodson has broken the single season goal record and the career goal record this season. The only thing left for him to do is win Notre Dame’s first state championship since 2007. It was fitting that the only goal scored by Notre Dame that punched the Bulldogs’ ticket to the Class 3 State Championship Game was a penalty kick in the 17th minute by sophomore star Will Dodson...

There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance, sort of like there is between winning and losing soccer matches that go into extra time. To the credit of Jackson boy’s soccer coach Zack Walton, he has been able to teach his athletes how to walk that thin margin without falling off a proverbial cliff.

KANSAS CITY — The first year in MSHSAA Class 3 for Notre Dame soccer will end in a championship game Friday in Springfield.

The “Heart-Attack Indians” strike again.

On a frigid 42-degree night in which Jackson soccer player Deonta Blair said he “lost the feeling” in his hands, he was still able to control his feet and it paid off in a historic way.

The Southeast Missouri State women's soccer program will be keeping it in-house on National Signing Day Wednesday with commitments by Jackson High School standouts Grace Crowden and Katelyn Miller. Miller scored 17 goals and tallied 10 assists en route to earning All-District honors as a sophomore...

As the sun sank below the western ridge of the rolling Missouri hills Monday evening, Notre Dame sophomore forward Will Dodson was in a group of Bulldog players working with senior goalkeeper Connor Westrich on penalty kicks.

Four times in the past five autumns, the Notre Dame boy’s soccer program has advanced to this point of a season.

The calendar year of 2020 has been memorable in a number of ways and few of those have been positive. However, when veteran Jackson boy’s soccer coach Zack Walton reflects on this season he is going to be all smiles. And the Indians’ year isn’t even over yet...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — For 63 minutes, Sikeston only allowed one hiccup against a tough Notre Dame squad on its home turf. Losing 8-0 on two different occasions during the regular season, Sikeston seemed outmatched. However, the stakes were much higher in their third matchup, and the underdog Sikeston Bulldogs were up for the test. Don't let the scoreboard fool you, though, as Sikeston played much harder than the 5-0 final in Wednesday's Class 3, District 1 championship game...

CEDAR HILL – If you think Donald Trump and Joe Biden were a bundle of nerves on Wednesday evening, they should have been in Zack Walton’s sneakers. The Jackson soccer coach had to endure over 102-plus minutes of watching his favored team miss opportunity after opportunity after opportunity in its C4D1 championship game against host Northwest (Cedar Hill).

PERRYVILLE — Keith Polette sent a high volley on a 40-yard free kick to the front of the net looking to connect with one of his St. Mary’s teammates. Instead, it missed everybody but the back of the net. Polette’s goal 1 minute, 39 seconds after the opening kickoff ended up being enough to spoil state-ranked Saxony Lutheran’s postseason run Wednesday night...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — They scratched and fought from the beginning, and the Sikeston boys' soccer team got rewarded in the end Tuesday night. After 40 minutes of nothing, the Bulldogs finally found the back of the net not once but twice in a 2-0 shutout over Farmington (6-11). The win marked the second-straight time this season Sikeston (5-11) defeated the Knights, ending a once lengthy drought...

PERRYVILLE – The Saxony Lutheran soccer program has established itself as one of the premier MSHSAA Class 1 programs in the state after winning six consecutive C1D1 titles through the years. However, when the Crusaders got moved up to Class 2 this season it was going to be interesting to see how they fared against the next step up in competition.

CEDAR HILL, Mo. — Veteran Jackson soccer coach Zack Walton knew his 2020 squad had the potential to get back atop its district this fall after not doing so a year ago. However, there were questions galore back in August regarding whether the Indians could even complete a season, its depth along the back end of the field, and a coach never truly knows how a team will come together as the season progresses.

There was no shortage of intense moments on the athletic fields and courts throughout Southeast Missouri last week, as area athletes prepare for the looming postseason competition.

When Perryville and Notre Dame conduct the kickoff to their boy’s soccer game tonight (6:30 p.m. at Notre Dame), the weather will be brisk (the lower 40s are projected) and possibly worsened with a freezing drizzle. However, for veteran Pirate coach Jerry Fulton, he’s viewing the late regular season contest as nothing but a positive for his program regardless of the weather.

Veteran Jackson boy’s soccer coach Zack Walton earned his salary this fall due to the fact he had to spend the last three months analyzing his team to the nth degree. That level of diligence on the Indian coaches’ part, coupled with some skilled athletes, resulted in another SEMO Conference championship.

There was no shortage of intense moments on the athletic fields and courts throughout Southeast Missouri last week, as area athletes prepare for the looming postseason competition. Sikeston boy’s soccer player, Brice Gordon, and Kelly softball player, Ava LeGrand, each excelled in their endeavors and were voted by fans as the Semoball.com Athletes of the Week...

Jackson won a home game against Cape Central Thursday, shutting down Cape Central 6-0 to improve to 11-1 on the season and 4-0 in conference play. Jackson received goals from Brayden Stowe(assist from Devin Reiminger), Chalon Domain, Sam Nispel(assist from Domian), Will Essner(assist from Domian), Mason Grindstaff, and Carson Gier(assist from Grindstaff)...

There were no shortage of intense moments on the athletic fields and courts throughout Southeast Missouri last week, as area athletes prepare for the looming postseason competition.