By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Nixa boys’ soccer team might have gotten off to a slow start last season, but neither that nor fielding a young team could deny the Eagles another district championship.
The Eagles, who finished 15-10 overall and 6-3 in the Central Ozark Conference (tied for third), picked up big wins over Branson, Catholic, Jefferson City Helias Catholic, Carthage, Capital and Republic, and won seven of their last eight games.
“We were under .500 with five regular-season games to play and it looked like we were going to have a losing record,” said Nixa head coach Evan Palmer, who enters his 27th season as the boys’ coach with a record of 347-270-22. “The boys rallied and beat Helias after losing to Jefferson City earlier in the day, then had a nice run the last two weeks of the season which gave us the confidence to win two tough games in the district tournament.”
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Nixa rallied for a 2-1, Class 4 District 12 championship victory over Republic before falling to rival Ozark 2-1 in overtime in the sectional round.
Key contributors as seniors last year were Bryce Richmond, Riley Lister and Nick Reid.
Bryce Richmond, a defender, scored two goals and was a Class 4 District 12 first-team and All-COC second-team selection – “Bryce is an intense competitor,” Palmer said. “His tenacity will be missed next year. He was a great defender and was excellent in the air, which we will miss in both boxes.”
Riley Lister, midfielder, scored two goals with seven assists and was named to the all-district second team. “Riley has excellent touch on the ball and reads the field really well as a midfielder. He was our set-piece taker, which we will miss. He tied for the team lead in assists.”
Nick Reid, goalkeeper, earned Class 4 All-State Honorable Mention, Class 4 All-Region 3 and Co-Goalkeeper of the Year, all-district and all-COC first team honors. He collected 112 saves, had six shutouts and a 1.39 goals-against average. “Nick is a great keeper. He kept us in numerous games. He became a vocal leader in the back, which will be hard to replace.”
Palmer has a stable full of experienced players returning with five seniors, 10 juniors and a sophomore on the roster.
Landon Myers, senior, defender/goalkeeper – “Excellent defender and can play keeper if necessary.”
Isaac Nuccio, senior, defender, scored one goal – “Coming back from injury. He will help us a lot on the backline.”
Jack Harris, senior, defender/midfielder – “Solid player who keeps improving year after year. Could see time in the midfield and on the backline.”
Mateo Soriano, senior, forward, scored two goals – “We need him to break out this year. He has it in him to be great up top for us.”
Josh Stoneberger, senior, forward/defender, scored seven goals and earned all-district second-team honors – “Played last year after coming off ACL surgery. He is a full 100 percent and we need him to play big for us.”
Andrew Butler, junior, midfielder/forward, scored 10 goals with seven assists and was named all-district first team and all-COC second team – “Probably the most gifted player on the ball for us. He had a great year last year, but we’ll need him to shoulder more of the scoring load this year.”
Colin Cash, junior, midfielder, scored three goals and earned all-district first-team honors – “Excellent on the ball and has great vision. Controls the central midfield and is always trying to find his teammates.”
Kaleb James, junior, defender, scored five goals and was named all-district first team/defensive player of the year – “Great central defender, big and strong. Tough to beat and does a great job organizing the backline.”
Zach Naugle, junior, forward, scored four goals and had four assists – “Didn’t score a lot last year but opened things up for his teammates. He will break out and score many goals this year.”
Carson Palmer, junior, midfielder, scored 11 goals and had six assists and earned Class 4 All-Region 3, all-district first-team and all-COC first-team honors – “Controls the central midfield with Colin Cash. Looks to go forward and can score as he led the team in scoring last year.”
Zack Voelker, junior, defender – “Outstanding back; can play in the midfield as well. One of the strongest players we have.”
Seth Weatherfield, junior, defender/midfielder, had three assists and was an all-district second-team selection – “Can play anywhere on the backline and throughout the midfield. Gives us great minutes every game.”
Presley Sundy, junior, midfielder – “Gave us great minutes off the bench in the midfield and on defense. He is a hard worker; gives it all on the field.”
Corey Kemp, junior, midfielder/forward, scored one goal – “Gave us energy off the bench. Excellent athlete who has become a very good soccer player.”
Luke Milam, junior, midfielder – “Excellent touch and knows the game well. Gives us stability in the midfield.”
Jacob McClain, sophomore, defender/midfielder – “The lone freshman on varsity last year. He will have a much bigger role on the varsity this year. Excellent touch; knows the game and has improved physically since the fall.”
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Palmer has a couple of upperclassmen newcomers he will be looking to contribute this season in senior midfielder/forward Aidan Matlock and junior goalkeeper Logan Elmer. He says he has a few freshmen and sophomores who have looked good this summer and could see some varsity time.
“Aidan didn’t play last year but has come back and is ready to go,” Palmer said. “He is a great attacking player who is so smooth on the ball. Logan Elmer just started playing goalie last year and has improved a lot. He is willing to learn and wants to get better every day.”
Palmer says the Eagles will need to find consistent scoring this season to be successful, but that last year’s youth are this year’s experienced players.
“We haven’t been the high-scoring team we had been the previous decade,” Palmer said. “Our schedule is very tough, but we want to play great teams so we can improve and be ready for a deep run in the playoffs.
“The last two years, we were mostly freshmen and sophomores on the varsity. This year, we are mostly juniors and seniors, so the experience from the last two seasons will hopefully pay off. The team has excellent technical ability, so I feel we will possess the ball better than we have.”
The Eagles, who are poised to pass the 350-win mark for the program, will participate in a jamboree at Kickapoo with Glendale on Aug. 24 before opening the season against Columbia Hickman at Kickapoo.
“We always have high expectations,” Palmer said. “Our goal every year is to win the COC and win districts then get to the final four. I feel this team has a chance to be very successful and fulfill those expectations.”
