By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@MattTurer
Monett, Mo. — Not one. Not two. Not three. But four. Four goals came off the right foot of Monett star sophomore Jason Puente Tuesday night, sending his Cubs past Fatima, 4-2, and on to the Class 2 state quarterfinals for the second consecutive season.
But it wasn’t easy early for Monett. Fatima (16-7), which knocked out Class 2 power Springfield Catholic in their district final, grabbed an early 1-0 lead over Monett on an indirect 10 minutes into the first half. Puente and the Cubs, however, weren’t intimidated.
CLICK HERE FOR FATIMA VS. MONETT PHOTO GALLERY
“[After trailing early], I looked at my other striker, Carlos [Izaguirre], and we were like, ‘we got this,’” Puente said. “They had one scoring chance [at that point] and we’ve had maybe four or five. Let’s stay in here. We got it.”
Five minutes later, Puente, who had 30 goals heading into districts, drew the Cubs even and didn’t stop scoring, netting three goals over the final 25 minutes of the first half—the final of those three being the game-winner.
“[Fatima] knew about Jason Puente,” Monett head coach Christobal Villa said. “I know they tried to stop him, but he’s just a mature gifted player who keeps going and keeps getting better every year.
“I haven’t seen a player like that in this area in high school. He’s not selfish. He passes the ball. He puts it in the net. Good player all the way around.”
Monett (17-6-1) is set to host Boonville (8-14) after the Pirates beat Southern Boone (17-7-2) in overtime on Tuesday, 2-1. The Cubs fell, 4-0, to Southern Boone in last year’s quarterfinals.
“This year our goal is state,” Puente said. “We’re trying to get to state. Everybody has to give 150 percent. If one person is slacking, they’re not giving it their all. Every man on the field needs to give it their all.”
Puente’s fourth goal came with 31:19 to play in the second half, and came with a celebratory backflip.
“It’s the hype that brings everybody up. The fans. The team. I’ve only [backflipped] twice this year. The other was my game-winner vs. Neosho. The fans love it, and they tell me to do it all the time, so I give it to them,” Puente said.
But the night wasn’t all Puente. Monett had possession for the majority of the match, using precision passing and its superior speed to keep Fatima on its heels.
“It’s always good to know your opponent and who you’re facing,” Villa said. “You have to respect them for making it to this point because that means they’re a good team. We had to stay focused and play our game and do what we do best, which is moving the ball to the players who know what to do with it.”
Freddy Ramirez assisted on two of Puente’s goals. Puente led Monett with six shots. Izaguirre fired four shots on net.
Monett had 16 shots on net to Fatima’s eight. Monett senior keeper Cameron Cody finished with six saves. Fatima senior keeper Josh Kunkelman had 12 saves.
Kunkelman was strong and vocal in net for Fatima and could be seen exchanging words with Puente and other Monett players in the second half. Asked what was said, Puente simply responded by saying it was something he can’t say on camera.
“All day [Kunkelman] was just shoving me, shoving me,” Puente said. “He threw an elbow at my mouth and it hurt, but I don’t let it get to my head.”
