Marshfield Blue Jays Soccer

September 29, 2011 – Marshfield:  It seems like old hat on the Blue Jay pitch:  defensive battle with a district foe, minimal scoring (if any), first overtime, second overtime, PK's.  For the second home game in a row, the Marshfield Blue Jays did just that as they faced the Republic Tigers this night.  Koty Jones, Lucas Cheeney, Nicholas Harden and Christian Harden kept the Tiger offense away from the goal most of the night.  The game was played mostly between the 18's with a few adventures beyond.  In the 4th minute, Christian Harden took a free kick at midfield and sent it into the penalty box, but the defense cleared it out.  In the 11th minute, a pass across the goal from Robert Norton to Shane Shingleton was directed toward the goal, but saved.  In the 13th minute, another free kick by Christian Harden was placed nicely into the box and cleared away by the defense for a corner.  Joseph Huber placed the corner to Shane Shingleton whose shot was cleared away.  The 19th minute looked incredibly promising as 5 Blue Jays were stuffed into the box with many defenders, numerous kicks, a bouncing ball – but alas – the first of three such scrambles around the Republic net produced no score.  In the 35th minute, another mad scramble in front of the waiting, empty Tiger net produced nothing but a cheering opportunity for the fans.

The game continued in similar fashion in the second half.  In the 42nd minute, Taylor Presson had a nice shot that was knocked away for a corner.  Joseph Huber placed the corner right where Taylor Presson could head it toward the goal, but it was saved by the keeper.  In the 56th minute, a cross from Christian Harden to Harrison Jones was headed just wide.  In the 76th minute, a promising opportunity by Cuyler Obermaier was stopped by the defense.  In the last minutes of regulation, 2 far-post crosses by Nicholas Harden found nothing but grass.  

Still scoreless, the game went into the first of potentially two 10 minute overtime "golden goal" periods.  In the 89th minute, the game seemed sure to near its end as the third Blue Jay scramble in front of the Tiger goal somehow had the same ending as the first two – no goal.  The second overtime was also mostly uneventful until the last of the 100 minutes of traditional playing time.  Just as the ref was taking a breath to exhale into his whistle, Cuyler Obermaier worked through the defense, drew the goalie away from the goal, and blasted a shot far post.  The crowd was on their feet, itching to let out a rebel yell, but could only muster an, "Ah, man!" as his shot literally missed by inches.  With the scoreless tie at this point, each keeper was credited with a shutout.  Marshfield Keeper Nic Yonter had 13 saves, and he and the defense had their third shutout of the year.

… Another PK shootout.  Perhaps using the north goal this time would yield a different result.  The very enthusiastic crowd did all they could to infuse extra energy into the penalty shootout.  In the round of five, Christian Harden, Joseph Huber and Koty Jones scored for the Jays.  Keeper Nic Yonter had two saves to give Harrison Jones a chance to win the game for the Blue Jays.  All Harrison had to do was make his kick — which he buried upper 90 — the crowd went wild as the Jays had won in PK's 4-3.  Technically it is a 1-0 win.  

Wow, who says soccer is not exciting!  Certainly none of the fans that have been coming to the Marshfield games lately.  Thanks to all for their support.

The J.V. lost their game 1-4, with Cole Wigginton scoring his fourth goal of the year on a PK.

We now travel to Camdenton for the 2011 Laker Shootout (Varsity Only).  The full schedule is posted below.  Our first game is on Friday, September 30th at 8:00 p.m. against Osage.  We will then celebrate the first day of October by playing two games:  9:00 a.m. against Rockwood Summit and 1:00 p.m. against Lebanon.

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September 27, 2011 – Springfield Catholic:  On Google's 13th birthday, the luck of the Irish buried the Jays, 0-10.  Nic Yonter had 20 saves.  The J.V. did not fare much better at 0-6.  It is best to just move on.  

Our next game is Thursday, September 29th at 5:00 p.m. against Republic at HOME.  Let's get that mojo back from last weekend!

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September 24, 2011 – Bolivar Tournament:  … And you thought that inter-league baseball was over.  This was actually the 5th place game at the Bolivar Tournament, the Marshfield Blue Jays and the Clinton Cardinals.  The Jays put the peddle to the metal on offense for basically the entire ballgame.  In the 4th minute, Harrison Jones' pass to Sean McCorkle was shot just wide.  In the 5th minute, Taylor Presson had a good run and shot that was saved.  In the 7th minute, an impressive header/reverse volley pass combination from Harrison Jones had some possibilities, but was cleared y the defense.  In the 13th minute, a free kick by Joseph Huber into the box was shot by Taylor Presson, but cleared by the defense.  In the 14th minute, a cross from Robert Norton into the box was cleared.  In the next minute, a rocket from Taylor Presson was wide.  In the 17th minute, a cross from Harrison Jones was cleared.  In the 21st minute, a deep throw in from Christian Harden into the box was cleared.  In the 22nd minute, Harrison Jones had a good-looking shot that was blocked by the defense.  In the 23rd minute, a powerful cross from Sean McCorkle to Cuyler Obermaier was almost tapped in.  In the 25th minute, a free kick from midfield by Nicholas Harden into the box was headed by Christian Harden toward the back post, but was cleared away by the defense.  In the 32nd minute, a great run by Christian Harden toward the baseline ended up in a nice pass across the 6 to a waiting #6, Robert Norton, who gave the Jays a much deserved 1-0 lead.  4 minutes later, Harrison Jones jumped on a loose ball and buried it in the back of the net to double the Blue Jay lead: 2-0.  In the very next minute, Harrison Jones crossed the ball into the box to Joseph Huber, who flicked it to Sean McCorkle, who was ready to redirect the ball into the goal, but was stopped by the keeper.  So ended the first half.

The second half turned more into a time of using up the clock with possession for the Jays and more offensive opportunities for Clinton.  Fortunately, the Jays' defense stood strong.  Marshfield did have its share of offensive opportunities in this half.  In the 45th minute, Harrison Jones had a long range shot that was slightly off target.  In the 46th minute, Joseph Huber took a corner that was cleared by the defense.  In the 47th minute, a pass from Joseph Huber to Christian Harden resulted in a rocket toward the goal that was blocked out for a corner.  In the 50th minute, a cross from Harrison Jones to Cuyler Obermaier in the box looked destined to be a score, but the defense collapsed on him to knock it out for a corner.  This corner was taken by Joseph Huber right to Christian Harden, who headed the ball in for a 3 goal Marshfield margin.  In the 54th minute, Shane Shingleton had a good cross into the box to Harrison Jones, but the defense cleared it away.  In the 56th minute, a nice run by Sean McCorkle into the box was stopped by the defense.  In the 62nd minute, a cross by Christian Harden into the box was cleared by the defense.  The clock ran down without too much more excitement.  Keeper Nic Yonter ended the game with 15 saves and his second shutout of the year.  Final score, Marshfield – 3, Clinton – 0.  With the win, the Jays take 5th place in the tournament.

Our next game is Tuesday, September 27th at 4:30 p.m. at Springfield Catholic.  Let's keep up the intensity!

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September 23, 2011 – Bolivar Tournament:  Ya know, you kept hearing, "History repeats itself," you don't believe it, history repeats itself, this time and next, and you still believe it won't happen the next time …  Well, for the third year in a row, the Jays played two very tough teams in the first two games of the Bolivar Tournament, played some of their best soccer of the year, and lost both games by one goal. The Marshfield Blue Jays faced the Camdenton Lakers in this special edition of "Friday Night Lights."  Most of the first half was played between the 18's with some nice possession.  In the 13th minute, a free kick by Joseph Huber was sent too high over the goal.  In the 14th minute, Kyler Moore smashed a ball into the opposite corner that barely eluded the keeper for a 1-0 Laker lead.  In the next minute, a free kick from Koty Jones from midfield found the box, but was cleared by the defense.  In the 16th minute, a pass from Joseph Huber to Sean McCorkle looked promising, but was saved by the keeper.  In the 17th minute, a nice run from Christian Harden into the box was collapsed on by the defense.  The first half ended without any other scoring.

The second half was relatively quiet until the 61st minute when a free kick by Joseph Huber to the 6 was nicely headed by Sean McCorkle and looked like a goal, but somehow was cleared by a couple of defenders who seemed to drop out of the sky.  In the 74th minute, Sean McCorkle ran under a long punt from Nic Yonter, shot it far post and just as the Jays fans were about to cheer, the keeper barely tipped it away.  In the last 4 minutes of the game, the Jays had 3 deep throw ins, but all were cleared away by the defense.  So, the 14th minute Laker goal would stand as the lone score of the game.

Marshfield Keeper Nic Yonter ended the game with 18 saves, giving him 947 for his career, and placing him ahead of Brian Siebrasse {Malta, Illinois (1977-79) – 936 career saves} for fourth all-time for career saves in the nation.

Our next game is Saturday, September 24th in the 5th place game at NOON against either College Heights or Clinton in the 2011 Bolivar Liberator Fall Classic Varsity Tournament.

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September 22, 2011 – Bolivar Tournament:  The Marshfield Blue Jays had a very tough draw in the opening game of the 2011 Bolivar Liberator Fall Class:  The 9-0-1 Warrensburg Tigers, who had previously beaten Bolivar 3-1.  Since the Tigers came into the game having scored 21 goals while only giving up 5, it was not surprising in the first half they applied constant pressure against the Jays goal.  Other than 2 corners (20th and 24th minutes by Joseph Huber) and a cross by Cuyler Obermaeir  in the 32nd minute, there was minimal offensive migration by the Blue Jays.  However, the continuous offensive attacks were thwarted by some great saves by Keeper Nic Yonter, and clears by the defenders. especially  Koty Jones, Josh Bell, Christian Harden, and Nicholas Harden.  The half ended in a scoreless tie.

In the second half, Marshfield improved greatly from the 20% possession of the first half.  In the 42nd minute, Taylor Presson had a shot that was wide.  In the 44th minute, Taylor Presson had a nice cross into the box that was cleared away.  In the 45th minute, another cross from Taylor Presson into the box was about to be taken by Harrison Jones, but the keeper caught it over Harrison at the last second.  The game was relatively calm for the next 20 minutes.  In the 67th minute, Harrison Jones had a promising cross into the box, but it was cleared away by the defense.  In the 68th minute, a free kick taken by Koty Jones from about 38 yards out  was placed nicely in the box, bounced around, and was eventually cleared out.  In the 70th minute, a defensive clear took a tough bounce to an unmarked Tiger, who gave his team a 1 goal lead.  The Jays tried to answer two minutes later as Joseph Huber took a long range rip that was saved by the keeper.  In the 75th minute, a free kick just outside the 18 near the baseline was taken by Joseph Huber into the box, and Sean McCorkle had a beautiful diving header that tickled the onion bag to tie the score at 1.  The game went into overtime and ended in the 82nd minute as Warrensburg scored the "golden goal" to make the final score 1-2.

Marshfield Keeper Nic Yonter continued his march up the National Record Book with 23 saves, giving him 929 career saves.  This moves him ahead of Jeff Slack {Hallowell Hall-Dale, Maine (1979-82) – 912 career saves} for fifth all-time for career saves in the nation.

Our next game is Friday, September 23rd at 6:15 p.m. against Camdenton in the 2011 Bolivar Liberator Fall Classic Varsity Tournament.  

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September 20, 2011 – Marshfield:  The game for Webster County soccer supremacy – at least until the next meeting on October 11th – was a feast for soccer fans young and old.  Most of the game was played between the 18's, but there was plenty of excitement on the outer edges as well.  Possession was overall much improved for Marshfield.  In the 14th minute, a powerful long range shot by Robert Norton hit off the crossbar.  In the 18th minute, Joseph Huber latched onto a loose ball just outside of the 18 and blasted it into the waiting net for a 1-0 Jays lead.  In the 20th minute, a free kick at midfield by Nicholas Harden was delivered expertly into the box, bit cleared by the defense.  In the 38th minute, a pass from Lucas Cheeney to Cuyler Obermaier was taken from long range, but saved by the 'Cats Keeper.  In the 39th minute, a booming punt by Jays Keeper, Nic Yonter, to the top of the 18 was controlled by Cuyler Obermaeir, but just barely cleared by the defense.  

In the second half, the exciting play  continued from both sides.  In the 46th minute, a promising header from Robert Norton into the 18 was cleared away,  In the 53rd minute, a run by sweeper Koty Jones, who had a nice cross into the box, was just barely cleared out.  In the 59th minute, minimal contact by a Jays defender and contact with the ground by Curt McHenry was somehow ruled a penalty kick.  The kick was taken by Tucker Brown and the score was knotted at 1.  In the 64th minute, a long range shot by Taylor Presson was cleared.  In the 70th minute, a nice free kick by Christian Harden into the box did not find the correct player.  In the 77th minute, a rocket by Joseph Huber was parried away by the keeper to a waiting Sean McCorkle, but the defense collapsed on him to send the game into overtime.  Marshfield Keeper Nic Yonter ended the game with 18 saves.

After two relatively uneventful 10-minute overtime periods, the teams went into penalty kicks.  Rogersville ended up winning 5-4 in penalty kicks.  Even though some would have preferred a different outcome, it is hard to imagine that anyone in the large crowd did not enjoy the game, judging by the involvement of the fans.  A special thank you to the fans for all of your support!

The J.V. game was also rather exciting.  Cole Wigginton put the hometown up by one in the 8th minute.  Rogersville tied the game in the 15th minute, and added the last goal of the game in the 43rd minute. 

We now have the 2011 Bolivar Liberator Fall Classic Varsity Tournament to look forward to.  We are in the "Blue Pool."  {2 pool, 6 team, placement tournament}  The first game is at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 22nd against Warrensburg.  The second game is at 6:15 p.m. on Friday, September 23rd against Camdenton.  The placement game is on Saturday, September 24th at 12, 1:45, or 3:30, depending on the results of pool play.  

{A copy of the flyer will be in the next post}

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September 19, 2011 – Marshfield:  The West Plains Zizzers came to town with some lightning in their pockets they would take out later in the first half. The offensive pressure; however, was exerted first by Marshfield.  In just the second minute, the Jays got the action started as Koty Jones hit a rocket that was just wide.  In the 9th minute, a header by Harrison Jones went into the box, but was cleared away.  In the 20th minute, an accurate long ball from Harrison Jones to Taylor Presson ended up in a nice run, but the defense collapsed on him late.  In the next minute, a long range bomb by Taylor Presson was cleared away.  In the 21st minute, the crowd was ready to cheer as a chip by Harrison Jones over the keeper was going toward the goal, but cleared at the last second by the flying West Plains defender.  In the 29th minute, excitement was floating around again as a shot from Robert Norton went toward the upper 90, but hit off the crossbar.  In the next 5 minutes, the Zizzers took out their lightning and zapped through the defense to put up 2 quick goals into the net.  Zizzers -2 , Jays -0.

There were just a few offensive opportunities for the Jays in the second half.  In the 46th minute, Taylor Presson gave chase to a bouncing ball in the box, but could not quite corral it.  In the 50th minute, a long range shot by Joseph Huber was slightly high.  In the 53rd minute, a free kick taken by Koty Jones was just too tall.  In the 76th minute, a smash by Taylor Presson was wide.  There would be no more scoring this night.  

Marshfield Keeper Nic Yonter ended the night with 15 saves, giving him an even 888 career saves, which moves him ahead of Brandon Wheeler {Caro, Michigan (2002-05) – 875 career saves} for sixth all-time for career saves in the nation.

The J.V. also had a  solid effort.  West Plains scored in the 27th minute and was answered by Cuyler Obermaier 2 minutes later.  A penalty kick goal in the 55th minute minute by the Zizzers closed out the scoring for the night.

Our next game is Tuesday, September 20th at HOME against Rogersville at 5:00 p.m. 

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September 15, 2011 – New Covenant Academy:  (Varsity Only) Sporting snazzy new uniforms, the Marshfield Blue Jays played their best all-around team game.  Just 20 seconds into game, Taylor Presson gave the ball a ride into the onion bag for a lightning quick 1-0 lead.  In the 6th minute, a pass from Taylor Presson to Harrison Jones looked promising but his tricycle volley kick was just wide.  In the 9th minute, it looked like New Covenant was going in for the equalizer, but Robert Norton and Lucas Cheeney cleared away the danger.  In the 12th minute, Joseph Huber had a rocket shot that was saved by the NCA Keeper.  In the 25th minute, a nice run by Taylor Presson was stopped by the keeper again.  In the 27th minute, a pass from Taylor Presson to Koty Jones was cleared away by the Warrior defense.  In the 31st minute, a well-timed run, stop and chip by Robert Norton was just inches wide.  In the 39th minute, a cross by Koty Jones was headed by Shane Shingleton right to the keeper's waiting arms.

The entertaining possession game by the Jays continued into the second half, but the score remained the same – at least for awhile.  In the 53rd minute, a nice pass from Joseph Huber to Harrison Jones went screaming toward the goal, but was saved again by the keeper.  In the 64th minute, a cross to the far post by Robert Norton to a diving Cuyler Obermaier was headed, but did not find pay dirt.  In the 66th minute, a long range shot by Koty Jones sailed just high.  In the next minute, a long ball from Koty Jones to Taylor Presson was shot off the post, came right back to Taylor and smashed into the net for a 2-0 lead.  In the 72nd minute, Joseph Huber had a through header to Harrison Jones who accurately chipped it over a sliding keeper to make the score 3-0.  In the 75th minute, a hard shot by Robert Norton was cleared by the defense.   Throughout the game, the Jays defense kept throwing their bodies and heads in front of shots, intercepting passes, and keeping the Warriors surrounded.  Kudos to Christian Harden, Lucas Cheeney, Hunter Heape, Nicholas Harden, Sean McCorkle, and Robert Norton.  Jays Keeper Nic Yonter had 10 saves and his first clean sheet of the year.

The team gets a few days off as our next game is Monday, September 19th at 5:00 p.m. at HOME against West Plains.

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