Marshfield Blue Jays Soccer

NIXA – The weary Marshfield team played their third road game of the week, as they played the Nixa Eagles on a chilly Friday evening. The first ten minutes of the game had the Eagles repeatedly on the Jays side, attacking the goal. The Jays defense of Jacob Twaddle, Koty Jones and Kyle Cary, and Keeper Nic Yonter managed to retain the scoreless tie. Then in the 11th minute of the game, a defensive lapse allowed KhaiUyen Huynh a point blank chance, which found the back of the net. With 25:28 left in the half, a pass by Drake Trease found Kaleb Romero to make it 0-2. One minute later, the same duo paired up to add to Kaleb Romero’s Nixa scoring record and to make it 3-0. Just as Mr. Romero was looking for a hat trick, his upper 90 shot was snatched by Keeper Yonter. With 17:28 left in the half, KhaiUyen Huynh again got past the defense and latched onto a pass from Drake Hughes to make the score 4-0. The Jays did have a few chances the rest of the half. They were unable to convert on corners taken by Christian Harden and Nicholas Harden. In the 28th minute, Robert Martin had a breakaway chance. With 7:58 left in the half, Robert Martin had a rocket that was just wide. There were less than two minutes in the half when a cross by Matt Overby to Scott Sterling hit off the head of a Jays defender, then off the post and past the goal line. As the half time whistle was about to be heard, Chad Mills made the score 6-0 going into the half. Keeper Nic Yonter had 15 first half saves.

The second half was a much better one for the Blue Jays. With 36:40 left in the game, Colton Harden had a promising cross that was cleared by the Nixa defense. Just one minute later, a booming kick off the foot of Colton Harden was saved by the goalie. In the 50th minute of the game, the ball again got past the Jays defense and bounced around for awhile until Austin Engleman decided to put it into the net for a 7-0 lead. The Jays offense seemed ready to do some damage with 6 opportunities in the next 25 minutes. With 23:12 left in the game, Colton Harden took a long range free kick that found the keeper. In the 67th minute, Nicholas Harden took a corner. Moments later, Robert Martin had a great header that got past the keeper, but was stopped by a defender at the goal line. With 9:10 left in the game, Colton Harden took a free kick that looked like it was on-target, but was just inches high. Three minutes later, another free kick by Colton Harden was saved by the goalie. Yet another Harden free kick was saved to keep the Jays off the board. With less than two minutes to go in the game, a shot by Luke Moore was deflected by a defender into the opposite corner for a final score of 8-0. Keeper Nic Yonter ended the game with 29 saves.

Our record is now 6-11. After being road warriors all week, it will be nice to have some home cooking this coming week. Our next game is Monday, October 19th at 4:30 p.m. against Central at HOME.

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ROGERSVILLE – Marshfield versus Rogersville, in any sport, is always a big rivalry game. Earlier in the season, the Jays had beaten the Wildcats 3-1, but such things never matter when these two schools get together. A third team – the weather – really determined the outcome of this game. Early in the game, a very wet ball went off the Jays’ keeper and #10 for Rogersville hit the ball into the net. Moments later, Robert Martin took a pass from Colton Harden and smashed a hard shot off the keeper to tie the score. A series of puddles, mud patties, and terrible footing kept the ball out of the goal for most of the half. The Jays had several opportunities throughout the half. Robert Martin had a nice pass to Colton Harden that was hit just wide left. Within a two minute span, Colton Harden laced a potential assist to Ryan Doolittle and then to Robert Martin that was saved by the Wildcat keeper. A loose ball in front of the goal had the crowd on their feet, but alas, a large mud puddle in front of the Rogersville goal grabbed the feet of Robert Martin just as he was about to score. However, the much-awaited goal did come with about 10 minutes left in the half as Colton Harden’s long pass to Robert Martin found the back of the net for a 2-1 Jays lead. Right before the end of the half, Colton Harden had a shot that was just wide.

As the second half started, the Jays had to defend the “dark side” goal that was basically a moat of mud and would end up on the receiving end of 80% of the goals by night’s end for the varsity. About 10 minutes into the half, the mud kept the defenders and goalie from challenging a shot from #14 which found the wrong side of the net, and resulted in a 2-2 tie. As the game was in its last few minutes, Colton Harden had a nice pass to Robert Martin, which was saved by the goalie. Just before a potential overtime, Robert Martin had a beautiful pass to the far post that a sliding Colton Harden almost put into the goal. Regulation ended tied at 2. Marshfield Keeper Nic Yonter had 10 saves for the game.

The Jays were stuck defending the “dark side” goal for the overtime period. The best scoring chance for the Jays was about halfway into the 10 minute overtime as a free kick by Colton Harden to Robert Martin resulted in a nice save by the ‘Cat keeper. Perhaps the Cardinal fans thought baseball was over in this area for the season, but it was not. With less than two minutes left in the first overtime, a ball entered the penalty box and unfortunately one-two-three strikes were observed as three Jays swung and missed the ball. After the strike out, #3 for the Wildcats hit the ball into the net to end the “golden goal” overtime: 3-2 Rogersville.

Robert Martin’s two goals gives him 22 for the year, which gives him sole possession of the Jays’ single season record. Although this may be unforgettable, the last 50 minutes of this slip and slide game was very forgettable. Let’s put this behind us and come out with a total team effort on Friday against Nixa at 4:30 p.m. (game is in NIXA).

The Junior Varsity played a 25-minute half as darkness stole what little lighting was left. With the crowd just settling in, Koty Jones (who normally is a varsity defender) dribbled through several Wildcats and drew the goalie out on the left. He then made a perfect pass to the far post as Nic Yonter (the varsity goalie) was able to slide and finish the ball into the back of the net for his first high school goal and a 1-0 Jays lead. The rest of the “half” resulted in 4 goals for the Wildcats for a 1-4 final score. Keeper Austyn Hyder finished with 2 saves.

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CASSVILLE – Tonight the Jays traveled 100 miles to play in Cassville for 80 minutes. 1.25 miles per minute for those math people out there. The game started off rather slowly, but the Marshfield defense was challenged early. The first six minutes were played mostly in the Jay’s half with Cassville being denied time and time again. Then for the next few minutes, Marshfield’s offense came alive as Robert Martin’s pass to Ryan Doolittle with 33:35 remaining in the half did not quite materialize. With 29:45 left, Robert Martin’s laser shot was just wide right. As the defensive struggle continued, in the 17th minute of the game, a ball went behind the Jays’ defense, bounced around like a pinball off several players and ended up in the goal after last touching #14 for Cassville. The Blue Jays tried to fight back and had a few more chances in the half. In the 22nd minute, Ryan Doolittle nearly converted on a loose ball. In the 25th minute, a fantastic through ball by Colton Harden to Robert Martin was saved by the goalie. In the 28th minute, Colton Harden’s rocket shot toward the goal was just wide. In the 35th minute, Robert Martin had a chance that was corralled by the keeper. The first half ended with Marshfield down 1-0. Marshfield Keeper Nic Yonter had 10 saves in the half.

With a new 40 minutes on the clock, the defensive battle continued into the second half. There were several good saves on both ends and defender, Koty Jones, helped keep the Wildcats at bay with some good clears. With 32:37 left in the game, Colton Harden had a long range shot that looked very promising, but just missed the crossbar. With 24:40 left in the game, Cassville again got behind the defense and #13 struck a hard shot from the penalty area into the back of the net to give the home team a 2-0 advantage. The Jays were determined to cut into the lead as the next five minutes gave them four great chances: a nice pass by Robert Martin to Ryan Doolittle bounced into the box, but hit a hard patch to bounce a little too much; a shot by Ryan Doolittle was a tad too high; a nice pass from Robert Martin to Ryan Doolittle resulted in a corner taken by Koty Jones back to Robert Martin whose header just missed; a powerful free kick by Colton Harden to Robert Martin was headed slightly too high. The game was mostly uneventful until the 70th minute when Colton Harden had a solid shot that was saved by the goalie. 5 minutes later, Robert Martin excited the crowd by dribbling through 5 defenders, but the ball did not cooperate after that point. There was no more scoring as the game ended Cassville 2, Marshfield 0. Marshfield Keeper Nic Yonter had 18 saves in the game.

This brings our record to 6-9. Our next game is tomorrow, Tuesday, October 13 at 4:30 p.m. in ROGERSVILLE. Let’s try to straighten out some of the wrinkles as we start getting prepared for districts.

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The Nixa game, which was originally scheduled for September 21st and postponed due to severe weather, has been re-scheduled for this Friday, October 16th at 4:30 p.m. {as per Nixa soccer website} (varsity only) at NIXA. Go Jays!!

Thank you for all your support of the website this year. We have had 78 comments this year (only 21 total for the previous 3 years) and have averaged nearly 1,000 hits per week during this season. Thanks again. Keep coming back to stay informed and for the cookies muffins pictures!

MARSHFIELD – It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This game was truly a tale of two halves. The worst of times came first. In the game’s first minute, a flip throw-in by Matt Magana to Bradley Stillwater, who headed it to Jacob Hampton, who redirected it into the goal gave Bolivar a quick 1-0 lead. With 36:32 left in the half, the Jays tried to answer back with a shot by Robert Martin that just missed. In the 12th minute, a corner kick by Matt Magana to Josh Condren doubled the Liberators’ score. The Jays again tried to answer back with a great cross by Ryan Doolittle to Robert Martin, but alas the header was saved by Bolivar goalie Jordan Stanton. In the 17th minute, Bradley Stillwater smashed the ball to the left corner, which the Jays goalie read perfectly. However, the ball struck a Marshfield defender and ended up going into the opposite corner: 3-0 Bolivar. Less than a minute later, the Jays suffered an own goal that made it a 4 goal deficit. During the next 16 minutes, the Jays offense really stepped up their attack. At the midway point of the half, Robert Martin had a rocket shot that was about a foot high. Two minutes later, Robert Martin crossed a ball to Ryan Doolittle whose header was saved. In the 27th minute, DJ Hensley had a great shot that hit the outside of the net. In the next 6 minutes, several Jays opportunities looked promising: A breakaway by Ryan Doolittle, a upper 90 shot by Colton Harden, a chance by Robert Martin, a shot by DJ Hensley all found the goalie or empty space. So close, and yet so far… Finally, as Robert Martin had a nice ball on the left side of the box, he was tripped for a penalty kick. Colton Harden took the kick and found the back of the net with 6:08 left in the half to cut the lead to 1-4. With less than two minutes to go in the first half, Tinash Zungura passed to Matt Magana, who got a shot past the defense to finish off the half at 5-1 in favor of the Liberators.

As promised, the second half delivered the best of times, relatively speaking. The Jays played the Liberators straight up for the last 40 minutes of the game. The half had plenty of crisp passing, great defensive clears, fantastic saves, and wonderful offensive opportunities. With 31:07 left in the game, a breakaway by all-stater Matt Magana appeared to be a sure goal, but Keeper Nic Yonter timed it perfectly as he redirected the ball back to the hands of steel for a great save. With 27:05 left in the game, Trent Burks narrowly missed a follow through opportunity. Trent had a rather impressive game as he seemed to be around the ball rather frequently. In the 55th minute, a defensive hiccup allowed a goal by Matt Magana and a 6-1 Bolivar lead. The Jays really turned it on at this point. Several shots by Colton Harden and Robert Martin found the goalie or just bounced the wrong way. Then as the clock was showing 6:59, DJ Hensley took a pass from Robert Martin and dribbled through several defenders and smashed the ball into the back of the net to close the gap to 6-2. Congrats on your first goal of the season, DJ! As DJ Hensley continued his attacks for the rest of the game, the ball just did not cooperate. There was no more scoring in the game, but the second half actually ended 1-1., which is quite impressive against a team that is now 14-1 on the season. Keeper Nic Yonter ended the game with 16 saves.

Our record is now 6-8. There was a lot to praise in this game. There is a great amount of potential on this team. The passing, especially on offense, really looked good. Great teamwork makes a great team. Our best soccer is just around the corner. We are in the home stretch of the season, so let’s have a great 80 against Cassville on Monday, October 12th at 4:30 p.m. in CASSVILLE.

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MARSHFIELD – “Against the wind, We were running against the wind, We were young and strong, we were running Against the wind.” The story of the first half. The Jays battled a very talented Camdenton Lakers team and a very stiff wind. The game was very well played and quite even throughout the first half. The ball was played mostly between the 18’s as the mid-fielders from both teams played keep away from the rest of the players. Jays DJ Hensley, Koty Jones and Jacob Twaddle were instrumental in keeping the Lakers at bay. A foul in the box resulted in a penalty kick for Camdenton, which Matt McDermott managed to squeeze past the keeper for a 1-0 Camdenton lead with 17:15 left in the half. In the 30th minute, Colton Harden had a shot that was stopped by the keeper. In the 35th minute, Robert Martin’s header was tipped away by the keeper. In the last two minutes of the half, a free kick and a corner by the Lakers were successfully defended by Marshfield to keep the score at 0-1.

Even though the teams switched sides for the second half and the Jays had the strong wind at their back, they apparently continued with the Bob Seger theme, thinking they were older now but still running against the wind. The half appeared to produce quite uninspired play and unfortunately kept the scorekeeper busy. A defensive lapse with 36:23 left allowed Rayder Bennett to get past the defense and the keeper for a 2 goal lead for the Lakers. With 31:45 left in the game, a set play off of a questionable free kick call resulted in another goal by Rayder Bennett for a 3-0 Camdenton lead. The Jays did have a little fight left in them as a powerful free kick by Colton Harden at the 17:30 mark was on target but corralled by the goalie. Smelling a hat trick, Rayder Bennett again got through the defense with 13:17 left for a 4 goal lead. Just one minute later, Jeff Dorhauer finished the Camdenton scoring by catching the defense on their heels to make the score 5-0. With 6:43 left, Robert Martin had the crowd on their feet with an incredible bicycle kick that the Laker keeper stopped with a great save. Just 43 seconds later, a slew of Jays came in to provide fresh legs to close out the last 6 minutes of the game. Backup keeper Cory Day garnered 2 saves and several players were able to add to their varsity minutes. The game ended without any further scoring, and the fans rushing to the snack bar to get some more hot chocolate. Marshfield Keeper Nic Yonter finished with 15 saves.

Our next game is tomorrow, Tuesday, October 6th at 4:30 against Bolivar at HOME. Let’s put forth the same effort we had in the first half tonight and good things will happen.

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SPRINGFIELD – Tonight the Marshfield Blue Jays traveled to Springfield to face the Springfield Catholic Irish. In a game that many were waiting to watch two of the best goalies in the area – Sophomore Sensation, Nic Yonter, for Marshfield and the Irish’s Junior Keeper, Levi Millsap – the younger keeper impressed the most. For most of the first twenty minutes, the ball was on the Blue Jay half of the field. As Catholic kept shooting, the ball ended up being cleared by the great defensive play of Kyle Cary, Jacob Twaddle, Evan Barth, and especially, Koty Jones. A point blank shot with 16:55 left found nothing but the goalie. When the Irish did manage to get past the defense, Keeper Nic Yonter ended up with the ball. The Jays offense did create some good chances. With 11:07 left in the half, Robert Martin’s shot narrowly missed the top of the goal. In the 30th minute, a free kick by Koty Jones was exciting, but unsuccessful. These first 36 scoreless minutes of the game were actually a very accurate representation of the contest. Finally, with 3:14 left in the half, Catholic’s Nick Kofron found the back of the net with a solid shot: 0-1. This was also the half time score. Keeper Nic Yonter set a school record with 21 saves in the first half.

As the second half started, the Jays defense kept pushing back the Irish attack, just like the first half. However, with 20:26 left in the game, David Bailey, with an assist from Taylor Arens, was able to squeeze one past the keeper. Two minutes later, a call by the refs resulted in a penalty kick, which was taken successfully by David Bailey for a 3-0 Catholic lead. With less than 2 minutes left in the game, another penalty kick was awarded on a handball in the box and taken by Reid Harbach to make it 4-0, Catholic. Then after the time had completely ended for the game, the refs allowed the Irish to shoot yet another penalty kick, which Taylor Arens took to make the final 5-0. Keeper Nic Yonter set another school record with a total of 36 saves for the game.

Although the game was a tough one, the defense played excellent against one of the best teams in the state (third place in state class 1 last year). The game was much, much, much closer than the score would suggest. Our record is now 6-6. Let’s get ready for our next game against Camdenton on Monday, October 5th, at 4:30 p.m. at HOME.

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MARSHFIELD – After a growing and maturing experience at the Bolivar Tournament over the weekend, the Marshfield Blue Jays were ready to come back home and dominate their opponent, the Dixon Bulldogs. The Marshfield offense was relentless as soon as the opening whistle blew. The mid-fielders made sure the ball was sent to the forwards as the ball lived on the Bulldog side for most of the half. Robert Martin started off the scoring on an unassisted goal early in the game. Next, Robert Martin took a pass from Nicholas Harden and made sure the ball passed the goalie into the net. Still in the first half and not wanting to be done yet, Robert Martin took a pass by Kyle Cary and laced it into the net. If one would think three would be enough for a half, one would have been wrong. Robert Martin and Nicholas Harden teamed up again for goal number FOUR for the half right before the end of the first 40. Not only did Robert Martin now share the Marshfield single season record for goals with Ethan Jernigan at 20 goals (that’s 20 goals through 11 games for the team, but only 10 games for Robert), he also set a school mark with 4 goals in one half.

The Jays started the second half where they left off in the first. Wanting to show his kind heart, Robert Martin presented a perfect opportunity for Colton Harden to join in on the scoring party: 5-0 Marshfield. Although several offsides calls kept the Jays from sending the crowd home early, the Jays did strike one more time as Ryan Doolittle took a pass from DJ Hensley and knocked it into the goal: 6-0. Dixon did finally sneak one past the defense on a corner/header combo to close the gap to 6-1. Overall, the game also worked out well to give some of the players valuable varsity playing experience as Trent Burks and Tre McCracken had some impressive work on the field. Joseph McKinzie and goalie Austyn Hyder also received their first varsity minutes. Keeper Nic Yonter ended the game with 17 saves.

Keep up the good work boys. Our record is now 6-5, another first. Our next game is tomorrow, Tuesday, September 29th, at 6:00 p.m. against Catholic at their field.

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2009 BOLIVAR LIBERATOR SOCCER CLASSIC – Playing in the fifth place game at the Tournament after two narrow loses, the Jays showed their fatigue on the field with a lackluster performance, but did come away with a big W against the College Heights Cougars. The Jays were able to strike first in 3rd minute as DJ Hensley laced a perfect pass to Colton Harden, who planted it into the left corner of the net: 1-0. However, with 32:37 left in the half a free kick by College Heights bounced off the crossbar to a waiting Drew Satterfield to tie the score: 1-1. A corner kick by Evan Barth and a rocket by Colton Harden off the post, and good ball movement by Joseph Huber and Shane Shingleton, highlighted good but unsuccessful chances. This offensive pressure did eventually payoff with 7:30 left in the half, Robert Martin took a pass from Colton Harden, and laced the ball into the net for a 2-1 Marshfield lead. This was all of the scoring for the half.

The Jays kept up the offensive pressure in the second half with a plethora of scoring chances and mainly constant play on the College Heights half of the field. Two corners by Evan Barth fell short. Ryan Doolittle, Colton Harden, and Robert Martin worked together on several nice plays that were very narrow misses. Josh Hyde was all over the field, making sure to feed the forwards. Trent Burks, who also played very well defensively, fired a shot that was just wide. Finally, with 19:22 left in the half, Colton Harden went unassisted into the right upper 90 for a 3-1 lead. Wanting to continue the fun, exactly 3 minutes later, Colton Harden’s pass found Robert Martin, who had the crowd cheering as the ball left his foot and found nothing but net. After this point, most of the players and fans decided to watch the clock as the weight of the three day tournament clearly took its toll. Keeper Nic Yonter had 11 saves, and ended the tournament with a total of 38 saves.

Our record is now back to .500 at 5-5. Our next game is Monday, September 28th, at 4:30 p.m., against Dixon, at HOME.

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2009 BOLIVAR LIBERATOR SOCCER CLASSIC – In an evenly-matched contest, the fans had to avoid the confusion of “Go, Blue” “Go, Jays” and change over to “Go Marshfield” and “Go Greenwood.” The battle of the Blue Jays was a defensive struggle throughout the entire game. Marshfield had several offensive hopes as Koty Jones took a corner with 27:10 and 18:25 left in the half. There were also several deep threats led by Robert Martin, Colton Harden, and Ryan Doolittle. A shot with 6:15 left by Robert Martin went just wide. Finally, in the 39th and 40th minutes, Greenwood’s Stewart Beezley struck two balls into the net for a 2 goal lead for Greenwood at the half.

The second half became a complete defensive battle with just a few interruptions for a little bit of offensive excitement. During the half, the defense of Jacob Twaddle, Evan Barth, and Koty Jones, stood strong with some assistance from mid-fielders DJ Hensley, Christian Harden, and Nicholas Harden. The second half ended without either Blue Jay team scoring, for a final score of Greenwood – 2, Marshfield – 0, bringing our record to 4-5. Keeper Nic Yonter ended the game with 11 saves.

Our playoff game is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, September, 26 at 12:00 noon against either Clinton or College Heights.

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