By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
It’s safe to say 2016 has been the “Year of Redemption.”
On Thursday Carl Junction joined the party, knocking off visiting Neosho 2-1 to claim the Class 3 – District 12 championship – the program’s first since 2003.
“I’m pumped. This was a childhood dream for me,” said senior Keagan Peters. “Last year those guys that played on that championship team told us what it took and we’ve worked hard to get here. This is awesome and we’re excited about next week.”
It didn’t come without some drama first.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Clinging to a 2-1 advantage in the game’s final minutes, the Bulldogs got multiple highlight saves from junior GK Sam Repsher, allowing Carl Junction coach Ed Miller to release a sigh and exchange hugs with his staff.
Repsher also had several notable saves in the game’s opening minutes, helping to offset an aggressive start by Neosho.
“These guys have been waiting a long time for this – longer than I have,” said Miller. “I think everyone is thrilled right now.
“It was almost a relief when those final seconds ticked off. We were in it and right there but they kept making pushes and keeping the pressure on us.”
Carl Junction got on the board first in the game’s 17th minute when senior Connor Niemeyer put in a header following a perfect ball from junior Aaron Skiles.
The 6-foot-3 senior, who scored a pair of goals on Sep. 14 against Neosho, had little problem elevating above Neosho’s defenders.
“It’s tough in those situations,” said Neosho coach Steve Schnackenberg. “We tried to body-up with him and just stay on him but you know he’s almost always going to get to the ball and once he gets to it it’s hard to stop him.”
The game remained scoreless for the remainder of the first half with both defenses settling in, but the Wildcats found the equalizer in the game’s 47th minute on a PK from junior Matias Ruiz.
The next 10 minutes were filled with both teams advancing into enemy territory but coming away with nothing.
That changed in the 57th minute when Peters was able to get behind Neosho’s defense and find the back of the net on a breakaway.
Peters entered Thursday as the team’s second-leading scorer.
“Both games were tight and we knew we were going to be in a dogfight,” said Miller. “Coming in we thought we’d be able to counter on them because of the numbers that they send forward and Keegan was able to get behind them for that breakaway.”
While that goal would prove to be the game-winner, it was hardly the last display fireworks before the game’s closing minutes.
Just a few minutes after Peters’ goal, Niemeyer and Neosho defender Collin Brooks got tangled up just outside the box. The exchanged resulted in a yellow card for both players, two of four total cards handed out in what was a passionate, yet chippy, district championship.
“It was an emotional game for everyone out there,” said Schnackenberg. “It is tough to lose to someone three times in a season. These kids on each side have grown up playing against each other so that adds to the emotion in a game like this.”
Thursday was a miniature version of what the 2016 season was for Neosho.
The loss was the Wildcats third to CJ, all of which came by just one goal. That was also a theme that persisted throughout Neosho’s season with nine of the team’s 13 losses coming by just a single goal.
That makes it even harder for Schnackenberg to say goodbye to his eight seniors.
“It’s always hard – each year it’s something that is a little bit different,” said Schnackenberg. “This group was so special and so close knit. One of our juniors said it best ‘it hurts to lose, but it hurts worse that we’ll never play with this group of guys again’ and that’s how we all feel.”
Carl Junction’s eight seniors will have the opportunity to play at least one more game together, which will come on Thursday at home against Carthage.
The Tigers won their ninth consecutive district championship on Thursday by knocking off Willard 3-0. Carthage enters the game with a six-game winning streak with four of those wins coming via shutout.
That stretch includes a 4-0 win over the Bulldogs on Oct. 12.
CJ has won five of its last six at home, with the loss to Carthage being the lone blemish. After losing to the Tigers last year in the district championship, Carl Junction has plenty of fuel entering Tuesday’s Sectional game.
“We’ve seen them and experienced their pace of play which is the toughest thing to adjust to when you play them,” said Miller. “We’ll try to make some adjustments and put ourselves in a better position to get the win.”
