By Kai Raymer
Springfield, Mo. — If the word isn’t already out on Kickapoo’s bench unit and freshman Jalyn McClean, it soon will be.
McClean and Kickapoo’s reserves continue to make the most of their playing time opportunities.
Kickapoo’s bench contributed three goals as the Chiefs defeated Willard 4-0 Friday night in a Brown Division pool play game at the Kickapoo Shootout.
“We’ve got a very strong bench,” said Chiefs coach Phil Hodge. “We don’t fall of much when we go to our bench.”
CLICK HERE FOR WILLARD VS. KICKAPOO PHOTOS
After surviving for a 2-1 overtime win against Sedalia Smith-Cotton on Thursday, Kickapoo faces Class 4 No. 10-ranked Jackson at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, with the Brown Division championship on the line. Jackson thumped Willard 8-0 on Thursday and Smith-Cotton 5-0 on Friday.
The Chiefs should be reasonably rested for their third game in three days: all 20 of Kickapoo’s available players saw the field against Willard.
Kickapoo controlled possession and had a sizeable advantage in shots on goal, but only led 1-0 at halftime.
The Chiefs’ increased their advantage to 2-0 in the 44th minute, when starting junior forward Lily Simphaly-Ragsdale took a feed from Alyson Reinold and beat her defender up the left side for a goal.
McClean iced the victory for Kickapoo, scoring in the 57th minute and 63rd minute off of feeds from Skylr Houzenga.
McClean is tied with Reinold for the team lead in goals (8) and had both of Kickapoo’s goals in a 2-0 win over Nixa earlier this week. The freshman – along with the likes of Serena Boyce, Harlow Klein, Kori Cowger and McKenzi Salyers – comprises a bench unit that has given the Chiefs a significant lift early in the season.
“Obviously, she’s very fast,” Hodge said of McClean. “She brings a different dynamic for us.”
After a disappointing 8-0 loss to Jackson on Thursday night, Willard coach Tim Magee credited his players for a better overall effort on Friday night and giving Kickapoo a competitive game.
“(Thursday) night, we didn’t handle (the competition) very well at all,” Magee said. “I didn’t think the effort or the attitude was there (against Jackson). Tonight, we played much better and played together. We went in to this tournament knowing we were facing some good teams and our whole goal was to just get a little better each game and start to get ready for the end of the season and districts, which will be here before you know it.”
Willard got a standout performance from junior goalkeeper Joran Stout-Mitchell, who’s only in her third year playing the sport. Stout-Mitchell kept more Chiefs goals off the board in the second half with diving saves and several 1-v-1 stops.
After starting the season 3-0-1 overall, Willard has lost six straight games. The Tigers have been shutout in five straight games and Magee said the team’s offense remains a work in progress.
“We’re really inexperienced up top – we don’t have a lot of soccer experience – but we have some athleticism,” Magee said. “It’s just a matter of continuing to play and understanding how the game works and how the game flows.
“We saw some things tonight against Kickapoo that we didn’t see, of course last night, but even a few games before. We’re starting to see players think a little more and hopefully that will continue to happen.”
Kickapoo got on the board in the 24th minute. Kori Cowger finished off a rebound after Boyce’s shot was deflected by Stout-Mitchell.
Saturday’s game versus Jackson marks Kickapoo’s fourth game against a team ranked in the Top 10 in the state, Incarnate Word Academy (Class 3), St. Joseph’s Academy (Class 4) and Rockwood Summit (Class 3) being the others.
Kickapoo 4, Willard 0
Kickapoo 1 3 —- 4
Willard 0 0 —- 0
First half
Kickapoo – Kori Cowger
Second half
Kickapoo – Lily Simphaly-Ragsdale (Alyson Reinold assist)
Kickapoo – Jalyn McClean (Skylr Houzenga assist)
Kickapoo – McClean (Houzenga assist)
KICKAPOO SHOOTOUT BROWN DIVISION
Thursday’s games
Kickapoo 2, Smith-Cotton 1 (OT)
Jackson 8, Willard 0
Friday’s games
Jackson 5, Smith-Cotton 0
Kickapoo 4, Willard 0
Saturday’s games
Kickapoo vs. Jackson, 11:30 a.m. (turf field)
Willard vs. Smith-Cotton, 11:30 a.m. (grass field)
