Cape Central stays undefeated with PK win over Farmington

Cape Central goalkeeper Tad Couch winds up to throw the ball during a game against Farmington on Tuesday at Cape Central High School.

Megan Burke ~ mburke@semissourian.com

Two halves and a pair of overtimes wasn’t enough to settle the score between Cape Central and Farmington on Tuesday night.

The Tigers knocked off the Knights in penalty kicks 4-3 after the match went 100 minutes without either side finding the back of the net.

Junior Preston Schlichting scored the game-winner after the two clubs went back-and-forth in PKs.

Farmington’s Cade Blackmon scored the first penalty kick, beating goalkeeper Tad Couch. But Cape Central senior Tim Kirby answered right back to even the score.

Both teams would score on their second attempts before Farmington missed the third attempt high and Tigers senior Joel Ceja missed when he hit the crossbar.

The Knights opened the door for the Tigers when Asher Rique had his attempt saved by Couch.

Freshman David Torres pushed Cape Central to the brink of victory needing just a save from Couch to win the game, but Brandon Schaupert beat Couch to keep the Knights alive.

Another save from Couch setup Schlichting to score the game-winner to keep the Tigers unbeaten.

Central coach Jared Dobbs felt his team’s effort could have been better early but improved in the second half.

“Our first half was a little lackadaisical,” Dobbs said. “It was a long weekend at the Notre Dame tournament, we took Sunday and Monday off. In the second half, I thought we came out and played with more energy, pressed higher, didn’t let (Farmington) turn and I think that was the deciding factor in the game.”

The first half saw both clubs struggle to generate any momentum offensively until Kirby was tripped up on a run and was awarded a free kick he ultimately missed.

The second half mirrored the first half in terms of offensive opportunities until the final 15 minutes of regulation when the Tigers missed on some prime scoring opportunities.

Couch made multiple saves to keep the score tied at zero through regulation. Dobbs praised his goalkeeper’s leadership.

“He’s a great kid on and off the field,” Dobbs said. “He’s a great goalkeeper and we’re lucky to have him.”

The Tigers have allowed just two goals outside of penalty kicks all season, and have recorded five shutouts.

“I think our defense is playing well,” Couch said. “I haven’t had too many challenging saves. Obviously, you’d like to see a zero up there every day. We’re going to keep going, keep working and keep playing our game.”

Cape Central (6-0-1) will be back in action at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday on the road against Sikeston (3-2).