By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
On and off the field, Willard’s Presley Cloud and Katelyn Magee have a strong bond.
“I know how she plays, and she knows how I play. I hang out with her almost every day outside of soccer, too,” Cloud said. “I love her a lot and I know I can trust her with anything. I know she feels the same way toward me, too.”
The Magee-Cloud connection was plugged in and humming Saturday afternoon.
Cloud posted a hat trick, with two of the goals coming on feeds from Magee, as Willard defeated Hillcrest 4-1 to win the championship match of its annual home tournament.
Cloud had a pair of goals in the first half (16’, 26’) and an insurance goal in the second half (53’). Willard improved to 7-4-1 overall at the midway point of its regular season.
“With Magee’s speed and ability to score and finish, teams start to isolate on her,” said Willard coach Jamie Waddell. “We need to have somebody else step up so we can relieve the pressure. Getting double-teamed a lot is probably tiring for (Magee). Today, we had someone else step up and do it – and we had that this whole tournament.”
The Lady Tigers had blowout wins over McDonald County and Fair Grove in pool play on Friday.
Cloud put Willard ahead twice on Saturday. In the 26th minute, seconds after Hillcrest had tied the match, she was the beneficiary of a picture-perfect through ball from Magee in the middle of the Hillcrest backline.
“We were talking that whole time,” Cloud said. “She actually said, ‘Presley, keep going! Keep going! I’m going to give it to you.’ After I scored that goal, I was like, ‘Katelyn, thank you so much for talking to me like that.’
“She’s so smart and we communicate really well.”
With Saturday’s performance, Cloud has five goals on the season plus quick redemption after some missed opportunities on Friday.
“I was very unlucky yesterday,” said Cloud, a junior. “Today, I was like, ‘Guys, my luck is back!’”
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After falling behind 1-0 in the 16th minute, Hillcrest tied the match on a Lauren Wilkinson penalty kick (26’).
“We did let that early goal in, but it just shows the character of our team that we were able to come back and get a PK to tie it,” said Hillcrest coach Roy Hardy Sr. “But then, we gave another (goal) up right away. I think once that happened, it kind of slowed us down a little bit. We just have to stay our course.”
The Lady Hornets (4-2 overall) avenged a PK loss to Bolivar four days ago by beating the Lady Liberators in pool play on Friday. Hillcrest has scored 22 goals in six matches thus far. Wilkinson leads the way with nine goals.
“I’m proud of the girls for their effort today. We kept the score close and played a full game,” Hardy said. “That’s always the goal – you don’t want to get mercy ruled, ever. That’s what used to happen to us. It’s one of the things I’ve tried to change with this program.”
The Lady Hornets are hoping to post their first winning record in 10 years this spring. Last season, Hillcrest won eight games which matched its combined win total over three seasons from 2021-23.
“It’s about getting players out for the team and having a certain commitment level,” Hardy said. “In years past, maybe we didn’t have that commitment level. And it’s about the players, too – they do it for you. I can say all this stuff, but if I don’t have the players, the (team) record is not going to show much and you’re not going to get that respect.”
Willard sophomore Kallie Reiber tapped in a rebound in the 31st minute that pushed Willard’s advantage to 3-1.
Hillcrest will have a rematch at Willard on April 21. Before then, the Lady Hornets will host Carl Junction (April 15) and play at Greenwood (April 17).
Willard and Hillcrest could meet for a third time next month as well. Both teams are in a Class 3 District 6 field that includes Webb City, Carl Junction and Catholic. Willard is hosting the event.
Willard plays at Lebanon (April 15) and hosts Central (April 17) next week. Three of Willard’s four losses came in a recent stretch against perennial powers Kickapoo, Ozark and Nixa.
“We played well in that stretch,” Waddell said. “We just got tired from playing defense the whole time. I was proud of our effort in those games.”
Willard 4, Hillcrest 1
Hillcrest 1 0 — 1
Willard 3 1 — 4
First half
Willard (16’) – Presley Cloud
Hillcrest (26’) – Laura Wilkinson (PK)
Willard (26’) – Cloud (Katelyn Magee assist)
Willard (31’) – Kallie Reiber
Second half
Willard (53’) – Cloud (Magee assist)
