Bolivar escaped West Plains 3-2 on penalty kicks. No. 2 Cassville trimmed Rogersville 6-2 and Marshfield knocked off third-seeded Monett 3-0.
Eighth-seeded West Plains defeated Aurora 5-0 on Friday in the nine-team tourney.
The Bulldogs finished the season with a record of 10-11. Season highlights included a tournament championship at the Thomas Jefferson Cavalier Classic and recording five shutouts.
During their 10 victories, the Bulldogs averaged outscoring their opponents by 4.3 goals per game, including a 10-0 win against Aurora in their regular season finale at Carl Junction's Bulldog Stadium.
Bulldogs win home finale in dominating fashion Contributed by Eric Kennedy 10/22/2009
The next goal came from the left side again where Jordan Keller won the ball from the defense and sliced a pass to Brandon on the back side of the net where he was able to chip it in for an easy goal.
The fourth goal of the night was an exciting goal to watch. With the offense hustling, the ball was driven down the field to the end line by Brandon who crossed the ball to the back side of the goal, Jordan was able to head the ball to Juan who scored.
The next goal came off a corner kick that Cameron Pitman controlled. He took a shot which was deflected off the goalie but Patrick McKean was there to put it in, and put the Bulldogs up 5-0.
Minutes later, Nii A. Abrahams picked up his first assist of the season. He controlled the ball as he was going down the right side of the field looking for an open player to pass to when he found Brandon in the middle of the field. Brandon took the pass, turned and blasted a shot from 20 yards out to make it a 6-0 game.
Finally, the last play of the half was a fun goal to watch. It started with a corner kick from Andrew where Nii K. Abrahams tried to head the ball in the goal but it went off the side of his head back towards Andrew. Andrew chipped the ball back inside where you could hear Nii K. from the stands, “Mine again”. With that determination he was able to put the second shot past the goalie.
During the second half the team worked on ball control to find opportunities to score. The first score of the second half came on a picture perfect play. Andrew started the play by taking the ball down the sideline past the defense where he launched the pass to the exact location in the box where Brandon was running to. With the ball coming off his head, the goalie could do nothing but watch it go by.
The next goal came off a deflection from the crossbar. Jacob Pelt drilled the shot to the top of the goal where it was deflected to the crossbar and came down into play where Cole McDaniel followed the shot and collected his first goal of the game.
With the score 9-0, the next goal would end the game on the Mercy rule. The goal came off another assist by Jordan. Jordan had the ball just past mid-field when he started his drive. He looked up and saw Patrick sprinting down the middle when he pushed the ball ahead of him. Patrick caught up to the ball with two defenders on his heels and the goalie in front of him. He took the ball into the box and blasted the ball into the net for the win. Congratulations to all the Bulldog Seniors! When they exited the game, they received a standing ovation for a great season.
Bulldogs fall 1-0 Contributed by Eric Kennedy 10/19/2009 This game was a rematch of a 1-1 tie in the Joplin tournament. The Bulldogs came out to avenge their loss of that game on Penalty Kicks. As soon as the game started the Bulldogs pushed the ball down to the Wildcats goal in the first minute. Jordan Keller crossed the ball to the center of the goal where the scramble began. Several shots were taken and deflections were made. Finally, the goalie dove to control the ball and keep it out of the net, but Jacob Pelt kicked the ball off the goalie and into the net for the score. But wait, the score was not to be. The ref blew the play dead before the shot was taken saying the goalie had his hand on the ball. Once the goalie has control of the ball, the offense can not kick it out of his hands.
The game remained scoreless until a series of passes found an open Wildcat player who was able to find the net, resulting in the only Neosho score.
After the half with the score 0-1 in favor of the Wildcats, the defensive struggle continued. Nii A. Abrahams denied every shot, whether it was a break away, header, or just a shot off one of the Wildcats to keep within 1 goal of a tie.
The offense continued to apply pressure and take several shots during the rest of the game. The Bulldogs never gave up even down to the last whistle. Within the last 2 minutes of the game, our first opportunity came when Jordan was fouled in the box for an apparent PK, but the Bulldogs were given an indirect kick instead. The kick was a blast from Arturo Nunez which made it past the defensive wall but was deflected out by the goalie for a corner kick. The corner kick went to the back side of the goal where it was headed back in for another shot but was cleared outside the 18 yard box were Neosho committed another foul giving us one last free kick. Zane Cassidy took the final shot and it was perfectly placed in the top part of the goal when the goalie jumped and deflected the ball just enough for it to go off the cross bar about 25 feet in the air to give the Bulldogs a chance to head the ball in the last seconds to tie, but while the ball was in the air, the ref blew the whistle to end the game before they had a chance to head the ball in.
The Bulldogs will entertain the Aurora Houn' Dawgs on Senior night this Thursday during their last home game.
Wildcats squeak by Bulldogs Contributed by Eric Kennedy 10/15/2009 In a game of districts foes, the Bulldogs and the Wildcats challenged each other down to the last minute of the game. The two teams battled back and forth until the first score came in the 25th minute. The Wildcats got on the board when a hard shot from the left side of the goal was saved by a diving Nii A. Abrahams, but he was unable to control the ball which deflected back to the center of the goal where it punched in by one of the players who followed the shot. Both defenses continued to play strong into the second half. The Bulldogs tied the game when Cassville was called for offsides which resulted in a free kick. Nii K. Abrahams launched a bomb from outside of the 18 yard box past midfield where Brandon Kennedy started his mission. It was he and 4 defenders when he dribbled around each of them looking for the net. When he reached the box, the goalie came out to challenge him and Brandon finished the play by side stepping him and putting the ball into the net. There was a celebration at midfield which in turn ignited the entire team. The Bulldogs forwards, Andrew Jiles, Jordan Keller and Brandon were on the attack for the rest of the game, driving, passing and shooting. When the ball was kicked past midfield, Zane Cassidy, Casey Sheeley, Sam Wolf and Aaron Eurit tracked down the ball and sent it back to the offense. The mid-fielders, Juan Rojo, Patrick McKean, and Nii K. won the ball the entire night and helped control the tempo of the game. Several more shots where taken throughout the half but where unable to find the back of the net. Their goalie made several saves along with his teammates who assisted with 3 saves of their own. It wasn’t until the last minute of the game when Cassville was able to get a drive down field which resulted in the ball going off one of the Bulldog players for a corner kick. Everyone was in the box to defend the shot. When the shot came, it was punched out to everyone’s relief, but it found the foot of a lone Cassville player who took a one in a million shot, which somehow made it through all the players in front of the goal and squeaked in for the game clincher. Even though this was a loss for the Bulldogs, they played a great game. The last 2 home games for the Bulldogs will be Monday night against Neosho and Thursday night against Aurora. Thursday night is Senior night.
Bulldogs win at Pittsburg Contributed by Eric Kennedy 10/12/2009 The Bulldogs traveled across the state line to square off against the Purple Dragons of Pittsburg on Monday. The Dragons brought out the welcome mat when they scored in the 4th minute of the game off a free kick that found an open player who put the ball into the net for an early 1-0 lead.
This was a physical game with several fouls called. The Bulldogs were recipients of two penalty kicks in the early part of the game because of fouls in the box. Both fouls were committed on Jordan Keller. In the 8th minute, Jordan scored on the first PK followed by another PK by Brandon Kennedy in the 12th minute.
During the rest of the half, the offense kept the momentum and the third score came off a long distance assist. The ball had been cleared just past the midfield line to the Bulldogs' defensive side of the field when Aaron Eurit showed the strength of his leg and kicked the ball all the way to the goal. The ball bounced over the goalie’s head where Brandon raced to finish the score.
Just before the halftime whistle blew, Nii A. Abrahams made a terrific save on a breakaway goal, timing his challenge of the defender perfectly when he came out to block the shot and keeping the score 3-1.
Pittsburg came out in the second half like they did in the first. They stayed physical and pushed the ball forward to score their second goal off a low hard shot which deflected into the net off the legs of Nii A.
The score stayed close until an unusual pair of assists. Both of these assists came on throw-ins to the center of the goalie box. In the 63rd minute Brandon threw a laser into the box which Patrick McKean drilled into the net for the score. The second throw-in ten minutes later from Brandon found Andrew Jiles in the same place where he was able to put the ball into the net off the hands of the goalie.
The Bulldogs will face Cassville at home on Thursday night.
Carthage knocks off 'Dogs in Joplin Tournament Contributed by Eric Kennedy 10/10/2009
Going into the second half down 0-2, the Tigers were able to sneak their third goal in past a diving Nii A. The Tigers finished up their scoring on a controversial no-call on a “hand ball” in the box by the Tiger who scored the goal. This fired up the Coach who received a yellow card for disputing the play. The players in support of their coach stepped up and would not allow themselves to be shut out.
The Bulldogs upped the pressure driving down field on the Tigers. The goal was scored on an offensive attack with several solid passes being made. The last pass was a one touch pass from Brandon Kennedy through the defensive line to a sprinting Juan Rojo who directed the kick past the goalie for the score.
The Carthage Tigers played Joplin later Saturday afternoon and won the tournament by the score of 2-1.
The Bulldogs will travel to Pittsburg on Monday and then return home on Thursday to face Cassville.
Neosho nips CJ in penalty kicks Contributed by Eric Kennedy 10/9/2009 The Neosho Wildcats and CJ Bulldogs squared off in a battle of two equally-matched teams.
Both teams struggled to move the ball without the defenses stepping up to prevent shots or having the goalies block the shots that were taken.
Neosho drew first blood on a break away goal in the 29th minute. The shot went just inside the right post over the outstretched hands of Nii A. Abrahams.
The Bulldogs were down but not out coming out of the break, behind 1-0. It only took seven minutes for them to even up the score. The ball found the back of the net when Andrew Jiles drove down the left side of the field, slicing through a couple of defenders and drilling a low shot towards the goalie. The ball went through his hands and crossed the goal line for the tying score.
The rest of the game was a defensive struggle with shots and stops coming from both teams. At the end of regulation the game was tied and was to be decided by penalty kicks.
Each team sent 5 players out to face off for the win. After the first group of players took their shots, the score was even at 4-4.
The next group of 5 players went to the field for the next round of sudden death. Finally Neosho prevailed with a 5-4 victory on penalty kicks to take the win.
CJ races past TJ 5-1 Contributed by Eric Kennedy 10/6/2009 When this game started, the Bulldogs were looking to get a win. They came out taking shots and having some back and forth play on defense. The Cavaliers defense kept the Bulldogs off the board until the 30th minute of the first half. The deadlocked score of 0-0 was finally broken when the Cavaliers had a goal kick which was recovered by the Bulldogs and they drove downfield with Brandon Kennedy passing the ball past the defense to a slicing Andrew Jiles, who punched the ball into the net.
The next goal came after a defensive stop. The ball was dribbled and passed all they way to the other end where Andrew sent the ball to the middle of the field. When the goalie came out to challenge the ball, Brandon took control and dribbled around the goalie to put it in the net.
Entering the second half with a score of 2-0, the Cavaliers took advantage of our defense that pushed up on a corner kick. They cleared the ball to our end of the field to give them a break away goal to bring them within one.
The teams played tough for the next 15 minutes until a foul was committed on Juan Rojo in the box. This set up a penalty kick for Brandon, who had no problem scoring.
Within the next five minutes, two more goals were scored. This next goal came when Nii K. Abrahams provided an assist to Andrew for his second goal of the game. Finally, the last goal came off a corner kick. The goalie deflected the shot from the corner off the cross bar which landed in front of Patrick McKean. He settled the ball and poked it in for his first goal of the season.
The Bulldogs were able to take several strong shots throughout the game, but they were only held to 5 goals because of the outstanding play of Thomas Jefferson’s goalie.
This was a good win for the Bulldogs' confidence. They will face Neosho at 3:30 on Friday and Carthage at 1:00 on Saturday in the Joplin tournament. Both games will be played at CJ.
Joplin too much for Bulldogs Contributed by Eric Kennedy 10/5/2009 The Bulldogs faced an offensive powerhouse when they squared off against the Joplin Eagles, falling 10-1. The Eagles came into the game hungry to score a lot of goals. The Bulldogs held off the Eagles for the first 10 minutes of the game before they were able to score. They kept the ball moving and spread out our defense and scored when the opportunities were there.
The Bulldogs spoiled the shutout when the Eagles fouled the Bulldogs down by their goal. This set up a free kick by Nii K. Abrahams who blasted a shot off the cross bar which came down just inside the line to count as our only goal.
'Dogs shutout Aurora again Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/28/2009 Déjà vu! The Bulldogs came out as the Top Dog again with another 7-0 victory against the Aurora Houn’ Dawgs. A total of eight different players were involved in the scoring frenzy of seven goals and six assists.
During the first half the Bulldogs were playing against the wind, but the dominance of the offense was not affected by the weather.
The scoring began in the fourth minute when Jacob Pelt sent the ball to the middle of the box to Brandon Kennedy to drive the ball in the lower left corner of the net for his first of 4 goals on the night.
The second goal followed 10 minutes later off a series of passes with the assist coming from Jordan Keller to Andrew Jiles, who poked it in the net.
The final goal of the half came when Cameron Pitman picked up his first assist of the year when he found Brandon open at the top of the goal box. Brandon planted his left foot, turned and drove the ball past a stunned goalie.
With a comfortable 3-0 lead to start the second half, the Bulldogs worked on ball control until the 53rd minute. Jordan found Brandon for the second time of the night inside the box where his shot rang off the left post and into the net.
The next goal came when Stijn Dobbelaere dribbled the ball down the right side looking for an open man. His patience and view of the field paid off when he chipped a perfect pass over the defense to Brandon who headed the ball into the back of the net.
In the 77th minute of the game, Aaron Eurit stepped up to the offense and provided a solid pass to the back side of the net where Andrew slipped his shot into the net.
The final goal of the night was scored by Nii K. Abrahams when he claimed the loose ball and drove it past the goalie just seconds before the final whistle blew.
Aurora finished with only four shots on goal compared to the Bulldogs' 28. Nii A. Abrahams recorded three saves from his goalie position.
Carl Junction has now played in five consecutive shutouts during the past two weeks. Three of those have been wins for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs will face the Pittsburg Purple Dragons on Thursday with the varsity game beginning at 5:00pm with JV following.
Bulldogs fall 2-0 to Willard Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/24/2009 The Bulldogs returned to their home turf to face off against the Willard Tigers. Coming from a loss to the Tigers 5 days ago, they knew coming into this game it was going to be a tough one. The Tigers were a team who were able to spread the ball around to find open players to pass the ball to. They attacked early and were able to find a quick score in the sixth minute when the Bulldogs defense blocked a flurry of their shots but the ball found an open player who hit the far corner of the goal to go up 1-0. The second goal came later in the half on a breakaway drive that was dribbled past the Bulldog defense and punched in. During the second half, down 2-0, the Bulldogs were able to drive down field to take some shots but the Tiger defense held strong throughout the game preventing any scores for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs best chance to score came when Brandon Kennedy was driving into the box, the goalie came out to challenge him but he was tripped-up on the play without a foul being called on the goalie. The ball was then cleared by the Tigers. The Bulldogs’ defense stepped up in the second half and was able shut out the Tigers. The Bulldogs will be on the road again next week traveling to Aurora on Monday and Pittsburg, KS on Thursday.
Bulldogs overwhelm Aurora Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/19/2009 When this game began, a light rain had been falling for a couple of hours and continued to fall throughout the game to make the field slick and muddy. This did not affect the Bulldogs play.
The Bulldogs came out with something to prove. They scored their first goal in the second minute of the game. The score came off a corner kick from Andrew Jiles which found the head of Cole McDaniel who drove the ball into the back of the net for his first goal of the season.
From here, the scores kept coming.
Brandon Kennedy recovered a loose ball at the top of the box and blasted a shot from 20 yards out to make it a 2-0 game.
The next pair of goals showed great team work and what the Bulldogs are about. In the 26th minute, Jordan Keller crossed his pass from right to left to the back side of the net to a diving Andrew’s header to score. Andrew returned the favor a minute later by crossing it back from the left side to right side to Jordan for the score.
With the score 4-0 at the half, the offense was not finished, they kept pressure on the Houn Dawgs the entire game. In the 44th minute, the Bulldogs received a penalty kick from a foul in the box by Aurora. Nii K. Abrahams found the net with ease on his PK. The next score came off another corner kick. Jacob Pelt punched the ball in off the deflection by one of the Aurora players who tried to clear it. Finally, the last goal of the game was a mirror image of the first one when Andrew crossed it to Cole who capped off the 7-0 game.
This was a game where 6 different players scored and two goalies, Carter Richardson and Nii A., combined for the shut out. Great team work Bulldogs!!!
Next week, the Neosho Wildcats come to town on Monday. Then the 'Dogs will travel to Cassville on Tuesday and Willard on Thursday.
'Dogs shut out for first time this season Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/19/2009 The Bulldogs were a little flat coming out to play the second game of the Monett tournament.
The defense was short a couple of players and the Willard Tigers took advantage of it.
The Bulldogs played a stingy defensive game in the first half. The Tigers pressed the ball up field throughout the first half but were stopped by the great saves from Nii A. Abrahams and the rest of the defense refusing to let them score. The only blemish of the first half came off a corner kick which was headed into the goal.
With the score 1-0 to start the second half, we took our share of shots on goal, but could not find the back of the net. The Tigers went deep into their bench to rotate their players keeping fresh legs on the field. With the continuous pressure from the Tigers, our defense finally gave way and allowed three more goals to finish the game. The Bulldogs were averaging 2.5 goals a game before being held without a goal for the first time this season.
The Bulldogs will face Aurora in their next game of the tournament later Saturday afternoon.
CJ wins tourney opener Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/17/2009 WOW!! What a great game! You would have never known that the Bulldogs had been beaten 5-1 by the Cubs just three short days ago.
The shots came early and more often than they did on Monday. The only goal of the game came when Bulldogs goalie Nii A. Abrahams punted the ball from his own goal past the mid-field line where senior Brandon Kennedy controlled the ball and sprinted down the left side.
Kennedy, dribbling past a couple of defenders, cut to the inside where he passed the final two Cubs to take his shot. With only the goalie left in his way, he kept the ball on the ground and drove a hard shot into the net for the eventual game winner.
The second half was all defense. The Cubs came out shooting and driving into Bulldog territory. They had several chances to score to tie the game, but the Bulldog defense stepped up to record their second shut-out of the season.
There were so many great plays by the defense. Sam Wolf stepped in front of a shot that might have gone in off of a free kick by the Cubs. Zane Cassidy and Nii K. Abrahams were a wall in the center of the field clearing everything out. Casey Sheeley was on his horse the entire game chasing down loose balls and challenging every play. Aaron Eurit and Clinton Young beat players to the ball and caused several turnovers which created opportunities for the offense.
By the end of the game Monett had received 3 yellow cards again and the Bulldogs received 1 red card. The red card was called on a hard slide tackle by Zane in the last four minutes of the game. This put the Bulldogs down one player to finish out the match.
With the determination to win, the Bulldog defense held strong and took the 1-0 victory.
Pictures of the game are available at http://sgfsoccer.com/ Scroll down to SGFsoccer Photos to see more.
The tournament continues Saturday at Monett. CJ will play Willard (winners against Aurora 6-0 in the early game on Thursday) at 9:00am on Saturday, and will finish the tournament with their final game at 1:30 against Aurora.
Monett trips up 'Dogs Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/14/2009 This was a hard fought game from the start to
the finish with three yellow cards issued for Monett. The
Cubs jumped out to a 2-0 lead at halftime with an unassisted
goal, and a deflected goal that came off the Bulldogs goalies
hands that barely rolled in the goal before it could be cleared
out. The Cubs scored their 3rd goal of the game before the
Bulldogs were able to get on the board.
The Bulldogs' score came in the 55th minute of the game when both teams were scrambling for the loose ball and Juan Rojo took possession of it, cleared it out to Andrew Jiles who finished the play by driving the ball passed a diving goalie. The Bulldogs continued to play hard and put pressure on the Cubs; they took several more shots on goal but were not able to find the back of the net. The Cubs finished the game with two more goals and an exhausted Bulldog team still on the field; this was their fifth game in as many days. The 'Dogs will not have much time to rest, as they will square off again with Monett on Thursday night at 7:00pm in the Monett Tournament.
Cavalier Classic Champions! Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/12/2009 The Bulldogs entered the championship game with two impressive wins and a 90-minute break between their games on Saturday. It didn’t take the Bulldogs long to score their first goal. In the sixth minute of the game, Andrew Jiles recovered a loose ball and passed it down the left side to Brandon Kennedy who dribbled the ball in and out of defenders down the left side, and headed to the goal where he slipped it passed a diving goalie to put them on the board.
The Eagles played aggressive going after every ball. They created their first goal when they sent the ball to the left corner and chipped a shot over our goalie’s head and with the help of the wind. The wind pushed the shot down enough to enter the top part of the goal.
The score stayed tied 1-1 until the 35th minute. Andrew Jiles broke away and had a goal in his sights, but was fouled from behind in the box. This set up a penalty kick for Brandon who scored his second goal of the game.
The Bulldogs added another goal later in the game when Andrew centered the ball, which the defense tried to clear out from in front of the goal, but Jordan Keller played the deflection to perfection with a header into the goal.
The final goal was scored by the Eagles on a penalty kick.
Kansas City East beat Aurora 5-0 for third place and Winfield shut out College Heights 2-0 for fifth.
Bulldogs advance to championship game of Cavalier Classic Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/12/2009 When this game began, it was all about the defense. The ball never traveled passed the mid-fielders for the first ten minutes of the game. That is when the Bulldogs started to get hungry and drove down to the Lions' side of the field. The Lions committed a foul which give us a free kick. This set up the first of two spectacular goals. Nii K. Abrahams stepped up to take the shot, and this shot was a missile from 30 yards out. The goalie did not have time to challenge this. The score stayed 1-0 until the 45th minute of the game. The second goal of the came when Nii K. had a throw in which he launched to the center of the field where Juan Rojo controlled the ball, then passed to Brandon Kennedy who finished off the score with an impressive shot to the upper right corner of the goal. His shot went high then bent down and away from the goalie to hit the corner of the net like a lefty throwing a curveball for the third strike. Even down by two goals, KC East charged down the field and took their best shot of the night. The ball was forced wide of the right post by a diving Nii A. They came back again with a break away in the last two minutes of the game. The Lions got past two of our defenders but not the last one, Zane Cassady, who came from across the field to blast the ball out of bounds to help preserve the first shut-out of the season. Bulldogs win 4-1 in Thomas Jefferson Cavalier Classic Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/11/2009 Host Thomas Jefferson and College Heights came out on the losing end in Friday’s opening matches of the Cavalier Classic at the Thomas Jefferson and College Heights fields. Aurora defeated the Cavaliers 3-1, Carl Junction toppled College Heights 4-1, Kansas City East Christian Academy shut out Riverton 3-0 and Lee’s Summit Community Christian School defeated Winfield 3-1. It was the second time in four days the Bulldogs squared off against the College Heights Cougars. The Bulldogs started the scoring when goalie, Carter Richardson, punted the ball to mid-field where Brandon Kennedy flicked a pass with his head to Andrew Jiles. Andrew took it from there, dribbling past a couple of defenders down the left side, then he cut back to the inside and fired a shot which hit the upper right corner of the goal. The Cougars got on the board with two minutes left in the half when one of their players was fouled in the box and got a penalty kick making it 1-1 going into the half. It was all Bulldogs in the second half, with great ball movement from the offense and the defense. This created another opportunity for Andrew to score his second goal of the game. In the 48th minute of the game, freshman Jacob Pelt scored his first varsity goal of his career. His goal came on a corner kick from Andrew. He was in perfect position to receive the low kick and chipped it pass the keeper. The final goal came when the Bulldogs rushed the box and Juan Rojo centered the ball from the right where Andrew pushed the bouncing ball all the way into the net with his chest. Carl Junction advances to today's semi-final against KC East at 1:30. The championship is scheduled for 4:30. Bulldogs come up short Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/10/2009
This game was a clash between two rivals and it was a hard fought battle until the end with 3 yellow cards given out for rough play. Each team pushed back and forth down the field taking shots and making stops until Webb City drew first blood. They scored on an unassisted goal in the 29th minute.
With the game tied at 1-1, the ball was pushed back to the Bulldog side of the field where the Cardinals' received a free kick for a pushing foul. The shot was on goal but it was stopped by a diving Nii A. Abrahams. The deflection off Nii's hands fell in front of a Cardinal player who poked it in for their second goal.
Carl Junction defeated Webb City 3-0 in the JV game.
Bulldogs overwhelm College Heights Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/8/2009 The Bulldogs arrived at College Heights ready to play. Senior Juan Rojo started the game off with an unassisted goal in the second minute to take a 1-0 lead. The confidence of the team showed throughout the entire game. The defense was a wall and shut out the Cougars in the first half and only allowed 3 shots on goal. With the outstanding play of the Bulldog defense, this gave the opportunity for Brandon Kennedy to score his 1st and 2nd goals of the night in the last 5 minutes of the half. He was assisted by Andrew Jiles and Jordan Keller. Jordan ended the game with 4 assists! When the second half began, the Cougars charged out to score their first goal of the night in the 4th minute to make it a 3-1 game. The Bulldogs soon recovered with 4 more scores of their own; the team began passing the ball around and spreading out their offense that created a breakaway with a beautiful assist from Jordan to Brandon with a one touch to the back of the net. The excellent passing continued when Jordan served Juan up for his 2nd goal of the game. Jordan was not done yet, his final assist came when he drove down the field and passed the ball to an open Andrew who finished the play with a sliding kick for his 1st goal of the night which made it 6-1. The Cougars never gave up. They played with a lot of heart and scored their second goal off of a free kick with 6:30 left on the clock. The Bulldogs were not done either, the offense and the defense played to the last minute and with their efforts, they scored their final goal when Cole McDaniel passed it to the center of the box for Andrew to slip it passed the goalie to make it a 7-2 final. The Bulldogs return to action on Thursday night facing the Webb City Cardinals. The JV game starts at 4:30 with the Varsity game to follow. The Thomas Jefferson Tournament begins on Friday night . The Bulldogs will face College Heights in their first game at 4:00. This game will be played at the College Heights field. Boys soccer falls in opener Contributed by Eric Kennedy 9/3/2009 It was a tough start for the Bulldogs soccer team, facing a strong Class 3 Carthage team on their home field. Even though this was Carthage's second game of the season, they already looked like they were ready for districts. The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with back to back crosses to the center of the field where the scores came off well executed headers. The Bulldogs settled down and came back with a goal of their own when Nii K. Abrahams chipped a free kick at the goal which was punched out by the goalie towards Clinton Young. Young sent it back in to Andrew Jiles with a header to finish and score the Bulldogs' only goal. The Tigers added one more goal in the first half to make it a 3-1 game at the half. After the break, it was all Tigers who came out on fire and scored 6 unanswered goals. It was a gutsy performance for the first game of the season. The Bulldogs have two games and a tournament next week. They will be playing at College Heights on Tuesday then at Webb City on Thursday. They will finish out their week at the Thomas Jefferson tournament in Joplin on Friday and Saturday. Be sure to come out to support the team. Carl Junction also lost the JV match, falling 4-0.
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