By Chris Parker
The Central soccer redemption tour is rolling on to the state quarterfinals after the No. 3 seed Bulldogs upset top seeded Webb City 2-1 in the Class 3 District 6 championship game on Monday in Branson.
The Bulldogs entered the district tournament on a seven-game losing streak with just three wins in their last 15 games.
Central turned it all around with consecutive wins over three teams (Hillcrest, Branson and Webb City) that had beaten the Bulldogs in the regular season.
“It is just them wanting to compete,” Central head coach Nathan Cardoza said. “They finally found that desire, that passion, that pride in something special. We know going into that all three teams we played beat us (in the regular season). We knew that everyone was expecting us to lose, and we used that to our advantage. The boys fed off of it and really pulled it together.”
Things got off to a slow start in the district title game for Central when Webb City’s Josh White scored with 29:34 left in the first half to stake the Cardinals to a 1-0 lead that would hold up to halftime.
Central made some adjustments at the break.
“We have been working on being composed even when we are down,” Cardoza said. “We changed a few players around in position a little bit and worked on a counter and having heart and pride in what we want to accomplish. The boys came out on fire that second half and did exactly what we wanted to accomplish.”
The fire was lit ablaze just 31 seconds into the second half when Isaac Garcia found Jack Brinkman for the first goal from long range.
“Brinkman has been our go-to guy all year. He has been our key leader, and he has been one that the boys feed off of,” Cardoza said. “(We knew) if he could get loose in the middle and we put it on frame that he would score. That is what we told him at halftime; be willing to do that one-two with Isaac really quickly and take that shot from distance. The boys went crazy. That is what we needed in that second half.”
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“I saw Isaac taking down line and I was wide open. I knew he would pass me the ball if he saw me. I had all that space, took the shot and it went in” Brinkman said.
The two teams played level for the next 14 minutes until Garcia found Brinkman once again for a goal from even further out to put Central up 2-1 with 25:30 left in the game.
“When it came off my foot, I knew it was a good feeling. I knew I hit it properly and when I looked it was in the back of the net,” Brinkman said. “It was such a great feeling but I knew that job wasn’t finished and we still had time remaining in the game.”
Central then dropped back into a defensive mode for the final 25 minutes while Webb City pressed the attack again and again taking shot after shot.
“It is stressful, but I believe in my boys. We have a good defensive group. We are young, but they have been working hard. I knew we could hold it together as long as we stayed committed to what we wanted to do,” Cardoza said.
The Central defense, led by senior goalkeeper Trevor Selley, turned the Cardinals back time after time.
“He (Selley) is brand new to soccer. It is only his second year playing. From where he was to where he is now, he has just been a phenomenal player and a phenomenal kid. His work ethic is one of the best,” Cardoza said.
“The last 20 minutes was pure hard work by the whole team,” Selley said.
As the clock clicked down to zero, celebration erupted on the Bulldog sideline as Central claimed the program’s first district title since 2019.
The victory extended the resurgent Bulldogs winning streak to three games. The shift in fortunes can be linked back to a change in mental approach.
“I think it comes down to our mentality. The way we approach the game is completely different. We have that mindset going in that we are going to win, and we are going to give it everything that we have,” Brinkman said.
Up next is another rematch, this time with Springfield Catholic. The Irish beat Central 2-1 in the first game of the season on Aug. 25.
Cardoza will look for his team to keep the momentum rolling.
“Feed off this energy,” Cardoza said. “The Central (boys soccer) program has never been to a final four. They can continue to feed off what we have done and continue to build on what we have done for district and hopefully go to a final four next week.”
Central travel to face Catholic on Saturday with a spot in the Class 3 final four on the line.
“We have gone through ups and downs, but we are still growing as a team. We just proved that we can still succeed and pass our challenges and our limits,” Selley said.
“We just have to give it everything we have,” Brinkman said. “We are on a three-game win streak, and I think we have something going.”
