Soccer

POPLAR BLUFF — It looked as if the Poplar Bluff soccer team was headed for an overtime loss Thursday night when the Mules got a fortuitous bounce. Sikeston’s Heath Poindexter was able to chip the ball over the oncoming keeper near the top of the penalty box with nothing between the ball and the next. ...

SIKESTON — The Sikeston Bulldogs soccer team will host a Kick-a-Thon Saturday Sept. 25 to raise money for the Gold Out Game to benefit St. Jude Children Hospital. Those interested in participating in the Kick-a-Thon can come anytime between 9 a.m. and 11a.m. on Saturday at the Sikeston High School soccer field at the Sikeston Recreation Complex. ...

The Perryville boys soccer team has been on a roll as of late, winning seven games in a row after suffering its lone defeat against Notre Dame on Aug. 31. Tuesday was no different, as the Pirates shellacked the Seckman Jaguars, 6-1, as part of the opening round of the Hillsboro Tournament...

Four schools in the Southeast Missourian coverage area are ranked top 10 in the first Missouri Soccer Coaches Association state power rankings poll of 2021. Jackson, Notre Dame, Perryville and Saxony Lutheran all cracked the top 10. Notre Dame (9-1) and Perryville (5-1) are the highest-ranked teams in the area, both coming in at No. 3 in their respective classes...

POPLAR BLUFF — Triangles are not just for geometry. The Poplar Bluff soccer team is using them to create success no matter what shape they take. “I don’t care as long as we create triangles all the way down the field,” Mules coach Rusty Crafton said. “That will help us move the ball.”...

Behind two goals from junior Jace Boland, the Saxony Lutheran soccer team improved to 7-3 on the season with a 3-1 win over Sikeston on Monday in Sikeston, Mo. Fellow junior Paul Kaufmann scored the other goal in the match. Boland, Max Richey and Michael Hasz recorded assists...

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The second meeting of the Sikeston Bulldogs and Carbondale Terriers was a thriller to the final seconds of the match with the home side Terriers coming out on top 1-0.  Sikeston won the first meeting 1-0 in the opening round of the Greg Kline Invitational held in Carbondale...

Behind goals from Sam Cairns, Timothy Kirby and Jonathan Brandtner, the Cape Central boys soccer team blanked Poplar Bluff 3-0 on Thursday. The Tigers outshot the Mules, 8-0, as the trio slipped goals past the Mules' goalkeeper. Cape Central starting goalkeeper Tad Couch went relatively unscathed, as the Tigers defense didn't allow a shot on goal during the entire match...

The Cape Central soccer team honored its seniors before Tuesday night’s game against the Sikeston Bulldogs. It was only fitting the Tigers would get their first goal on senior night from senior Logan Mizicko with 6:14 remaining in the first half en route to a 2-1 victory at Tiger Stadium...

Behind a stout game from senior forward Stratton Kaempfe's three goals, the Perryville Pirates left little to doubt in the dismantling of Festus on Tuesday, beating the Tigers, 8-0. Bryce Brewer and Dayton Strattman pitched in two goals in the win while Kaden Laurentius added one goal...

The Saxony Lutheran boys soccer team performed well in the Hannibal Tournament — held on Friday and Saturday in Hannibal, Mo. — taking home third place in the two-day tournament. The Crusaders pounded Macomb on Friday, winning 8-0. Saxony Lutheran came back on Saturday and split two games. The Crusaders lost to Hickman 3-1 early in the day, but came back to defeat Southern Boone 4-1...

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Sikeston Bulldog soccer's first visit to the boyhood hometown of the famous Missourian Mark Twain proved to be a successful Friday night adventure that could not have been scripted better by Twain himself. The host team Hannibal Pirates got the first score on the board midway into the first half to send them up 1-0. Despite the early goal, Sikeston coach Gabe Dement praised his defense’s effort to keep them in the game...

The Jackson boys soccer team won their fifth game in a row to start the season perfect, defeating Northwest at home on Wednesday, 3-2. Senior Will Essner scored all three goals for the Indians, while Deonta Blair recorded one assist while Brayden Stowe added another assist...

Saxony Lutheran won their third game in a row after dropping their season opener, shutting out Fredericktown on Tuesday, 8-0, on the road. Two goals each were scored by Jace Boland and Max Richey while Paul Kaufmann, Jonathan Pfeiffer, and Wadxe Eggemeyer scored goals...

The Cape Central soccer team picked up two big wins on Saturday on its home turf as part of Notre Dame’s Soccerfest. The Tigers recorded two shutout wins Saturday, defeating Poplar Bluff 5-0 and Fredericktown 8-0. Cape Central senior forward Jon Brandtner recorded two goals in the Tigers’ first game against Poplar Bluff. He was joined in the scoring category by senior Logan Mizicko, junior Sam Cairns and senior Drew Roth with one goal apiece...

Coming off a solid weekend with a second place finish in the Greg Kline Invitational, the Bulldog soccer team was not able to match the performance in a regular season match against the Marion Wildcats.    The Marion Wildcats squad went up three scores in the first half, sending the Bulldogs offensive attack scrambling to look for any opportunities to battle back.  Sikeston had an early shot on target within the first minute of the match, hoping for some momentum from that chance didn't happen for the Dogs.   . ...

While it may be difficult to replace an All-State player, Jackson soccer coach Zack Walton believes senior goalkeeper Nolan Dry is doing his due diligence. Dry — who is replacing Class 4 second-team All-Stater Luke Mirly in the net — made an incredible diving save on a Cape Central penalty kick, and the senior goalkeeper recorded his first shutout of the season in a 2-0 victory Thursday in the Notre Dame Soccerfest at Notre Dame High School...

After losing to crosstown rival Jackson on Friday, the Saxony Lutheran boys soccer team won their first game of the season, defeating Festus, 6-1, on Tuesday, at the Festus Classic. Mike Hasz tallied two goals for the Crusaders (1-1) while Luke Eggemeyer, Paul Kauffman, Max Richey, and Jace Boland also scored goals...

There are few businesses anywhere in the world that haven’t had to think differently over the past couple of years in this ever-changing environment that we are all immersed in, more than likely, forever. And Semoball.com is not immune to that. The website devoted to providing sports fans thorough coverage of sports throughout Southeast Missouri is still going to make that its mission on a daily basis, however, the internal pieces are going to be doing some shifting moving forward.

JACKSON, Mo. — The Jackson soccer team began its 2020 Class 4 state championship defense with a high-scoring, 7-5 victory on Friday night against Saxony Lutheran. “It was just one of those games at the beginning of the year,” Jackson coach Zach Walton said. ...

Bulldogs finish second at Carbondale Staff Report Standard Democrat CARBONDALE, Mo. — The Sikeston Bulldogs soccer team knew that they needed a tie or win against Anna-Jonesboro to secure a guaranteed second place finish in the Greg Kline Invitational in Carbondale on Saturday afternoon. ...

With a baker’s dozen returning to the roster, including 10 seniors, the Poplar Bluff soccer team looks get cooking this fall. The Mules, who open the season Friday with a tournament in Carbondale, Illinois, may have a large part of the team back but there are still questions to be answered this weekend...

Notre Dame student Nolan McGuire has an opportunity to potentially fast-track his way to playing professional soccer. The 16-year-old was recently announced as a member of the MLS expansion team St. Louis City SC's inaugural youth academy class when he was named to the club's 17u team...

Success begets success and that is nowhere more obvious than in the pipeline that exists between the soccer pitches of Jackson High School and Southeast Missouri State.

Most high school soccer players could only hope to score 45 goals in an entire four-year career. Perryville’s Leah Buerck did it in one season. “It took a lot of pressure off the coaching staff,” Pirates coach Jerry Fulton said. “When you can get that early goal or get that early lead, it’s huge. For instance, I don’t know how this happened, but in the first 30 minutes, we were down three goals to North County the first time we played them. We beat them six to three and Leah had five goals...

Prior to the MSHSAA Class 4 Boy’s Soccer state championship game last November in Springfield, Jackson senior goalkeeper Luke Mirly wasn’t exactly feeling great.

The Semoball Cup is presented to the school with the most successful season based on a formula that takes into account the combined winning percentage of all sports teams (WIN) plus bonus points for advancement in postseason play for both teams (POST) and individuals (IND). The bonus points are divided by the number of teams a school fields. Here are the standings with previous rankings from 2020:...

The best of the best will be recognized at the 2021 Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH on July 10 at the Rock N’ Roll Drive-In in Chaffee.

Spring sports and top award finalists for the 2021 Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH will be announced Friday, along with the final wave of tickets going on sale. The announcement of finalists can be heard at 9 a.m. Friday on SEMO ESPN Radio and on the Semoball.com Facebook page. A story recapping all the finalists will publish later Friday online at semoball.com and in your local newspaper...

The Perryville girls soccer team was eliminated from postseason competition Saturday with a 2-0 loss in the Class 2 state quarterfinals to top-ranked Ursuline Academy at The Bank of Missouri Soccer Complex. The Pirates had only been to the state quarterfinals one other time in school history, and coach Jerry Fulton said his team had worked hard all week in anticipation of the matchup...

Trailing 2-1 with just over 20 minutes left in Wednesday’s Class 3 District 1 championship game Cape Central found an open lane to the net. St. Vincent junior goalkeeper Addison Cates was the only thing standing in the way of the Tigers tying the game...

To some, it may have seemed like any other high school soccer game. However, to the fans, parents, and schoolmates gathered at Jackson on Wednesday for the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 championship game between the Indians and rival Notre Dame, this was a war between two very talented teams and their records reflected that. Both teams fought tooth-and-nail for any kind of advantage.

Perryville’s underclassmen stole the show Tuesday night, scoring five of the Pirates’ six goals in a 6-0 win over St. Clair to advance to the Class 2 District 1 finals. Perryville wasted very little time with sophomore Alyssa King scoring the Pirates’ first goal just over five minutes into the game...

The Jackson girls soccer team improved its record to 18-2 on Monday, beating Poplar Bluff, 3-0, in Class four, District one semifinal action held at Jackson. The Indians will now take on the winner of Seckman/Notre Dame in the championship on Wednesday at Jackson at 4:30 p.m...

Despite his team falling to St. Pius X 4-0 on Thursday, Saxony Lutheran girl’s soccer coach Chris Crawford saw a lot of positives from his team. “I felt like we really controlled a lot of the play,” Crawford said. “They didn’t have a whole lot of shots and we were playing without some key players. For all that happening, I’m okay with the results. I never want to lose, but we battled our butts off all game long and I’m very proud of them for that.”...

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Mo. — Zoe Savat and Madalyn Berry each had a hat trick as the Poplar Bluff soccer team closed out the regular season with an 8-2 win at Liberty-Mountain View on Tuesday. Berry set up Lily Johnson’s tiebreaking goal with 14 1/2 minutes left in the half and Savat scored twice over the final five minutes before the break to give the Mules a 4-1 lead...

By BRIAN ROSENER Sports Editor POPLAR BLUFF — Leah Buerck scored four goals and set up Carlie Holdman’s opening tally as the Perryville soccer team won its third straight Monday. Buerck scored twice in the span of two minutes after Poplar Bluff pulled even on a penalty kick as the Pirates won 6-1 at Mules Stadium...

Julia Smothers gave her senior teammates a golden gift Friday night. The junior took a drop pass from Olivia Carda and scored 2 minutes, 42 seconds into overtime, lifting the Poplar Bluff soccer team to a 2-1 win over Farmington on Senior Night at Mules Stadium...

With only three games remaining on the season schedule, and Jackson head coach Justin McMullen eyeing the C4D1 #1 seed, his girls wasted no time on Tuesday, scoring early and often, shutting out Cape Central, 7-0. Both Grace Crowden and Abbey Klund netted two goals each, while teammates Katelyn Miller, Olivia Klinkhardt, and Emma Powell added a goal apiece...

POPLAR BLUFF — Zoe Savat, Lilly Johnson and the Poplar Bluff defense once again gave the Sikeston soccer team fits Monday. Savat set up Johnson’s tiebreaking goal with just under 11 minutes remaining and scored one herself late as the Mules beat Sikeston 2-0 for the third time this season...

The Jackson girls soccer team had arguably their toughest game since their opening season loss to Parkway West on Monday, as an upstart Seckman squad took the Indians to the brink, with Jackson pulling out a 3-2 victory in double overtime. Katelyn Miller, Justi Nelson, and Olivia Ward each scored goals, while Ward and Nelson added assists in the match...

SIKESTON — The Sikeston girls soccer team dropped its final home match of the year to Perryville on Tuesday. Battling windy conditions, the Lady Bulldogs only yielded three goals in its 3-0 loss. “Our girls competed well against a well-organized and physical Perryville team,” Sikeston head coach Gabe Dement said. “We continue to learn and improve, and there’s never a doubt that these young ladies are going to play hard, regardless of the opponent.”...

POPLAR BLUFF — Nineteen seconds into the second half Olivia Carda’s high volley from 23 yards sailed over the keeper and into the net, giving Poplar Bluff a two-goal lead Tuesday. Cape Central, however, got a pair of well-placed shots into the back of the net — one that tied the game with 7 1/2 minutes remaining and another in overtime — to stun Poplar Bluff 3-2 at Mules Stadium...

Kelly senior Kiya Lambert signed to continue her soccer career at Mineral Area College. Lambert joins goalkeeper Annastasia Harlow as the other Lady Hawk on the Mineral Area roster. Both are two of five region athletes to play in Park Hills. Mineral Area is 0-7 this season. They are getting outscored 18-5...

Jackson goaltender Brooke Gerau secured her 11th shutout of the season, making one save Friday, as the Indians won their 11th game in a row against Mehlville, 3-0. Senior Katelyn Miller also had a great game, securing a hat-trick, scoring all three goals against the Panthers, whose record dropped to 0-7 on the season...

Jackson girls head soccer coach Justin McMullen got two goals from Katelyn Miller, as well as goals from Abbey Klund and Justi Nelson, as Jackson defeated Fox High School at home Tuesday, 4-0. Miller also collected two assists. Klund also recorded an assist, as well as Grace Crowden...

It took nine matches, but the Kelly girls' soccer team finally found the back of the net against Valley Park on Wednesday. Trailing 2-0, senior Kiya Lambert cut the lead in half after her shot sailed past Valley Park's goalkeeper at the 35-minute mark...

The 7-1 Jackson girls soccer team beat an eight win Springfield Kickapoo team Thursday, shutting down the Chiefs, 1-0, in the opening game of the Kickapoo Tournament in Springfield. Brook Gerau, goaltender for the Indians, was spectacular once again, recording five saves in the shutout...

Jackson recorded their seventh win of the season and sixth in a row, shutting out Farmington Tuesday, 2-0. Jackson goaltender Brooke Gerau's nickname should be "The Wall", because she hasn't allowed a goal since the first game of the season back on March 19 against Parkway West, where she allowed two goals...

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...