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By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The postseason is always the goal and always the expectation for the Glendale boys’ soccer program, and Saturday’s victory was another step toward the ultimate goal – a state championship.
The Falcons, who improved to 25-3 on the season, held off Neosho for the second year in a row in the Class 3 quarterfinals with a 3-2 victory and a second straight trip to the Class 3 final four.
“It feels amazing; it’s just a dream come true,” said senior midfielder Alex Spence, who scored one of Glendale’s three goals. “The whole team has worked for it, so I think we deserve it.”
That first goal came less than 10 minutes into the game when Haiden Casper was fouled in the box. Spence stepped up to take the penalty kick and buried it in the lower right corner of the goal.
“We’ve been practicing PKs after every practice this week, so when I walked up to the line, it wasn’t anything big. I just took care of business,” Spence said.
Goal No. 2 came just 10 minutes later when Cayden Meyer headed the ball in off a corner kick from Andrei Balanean.
“We talked to our kids about the first five minutes of these big games, and it proved in the Catholic game (a 3-2 Class 3 District 5 win); both of our goals came in the first five minutes of each half,” said Glendale head coach Jeff Rogers. “Kids’ adrenaline (is up) on both sides of the ball, both teams in big games like this are going to get some early looks. So, we were fortunate to find those two goals in the first half and the second half – those quick goals like that.
“But as long as I’ve been doing this, I knew Neosho has a history of storming back. So, we talked all week about composure; to win these big kinds of games is composure. I felt, for the most part, we did what we wanted to do. But give them credit because they were putting big balls in there and trying to get into space; and they did. They have the players to do it and they found the goals.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
After it looked like Glendale was going to run away with the game on a free kick score by Balanean for a 3-0 lead, Neosho’s Gabe Zapete broke free for a nice run down the left sideline and cut it back to the middle for a shot past the Glendale keeper with about 17 minutes left in the game.
Zapete struck again for the Wildcats (14-5) on a pass from Juan Perez that Zapete sent in from the left side with his left foot, crossing into the lower right corner of the goal to pull Neosho within 3-2 with less than 12 minutes to play. But it was just a little too late, after spotting Glendale those early goals.
“I told them I was proud of them,” Neosho head coach James Carter said. “I would’ve been proud of them no matter what. But to end the season battling back like that, I didn’t expect less from them. But that’s so hard to do. I was just proud of them in the way they responded to all that stuff and battling.
“It’s always tough to end the season with loss, but if you’re going to end it and end it playing like that, that’s an OK thing.”
All three of Glendale’s goals came on set pieces: a penalty kick, a corner kick and a free kick.
“This group is dangerous, just all around,” Rogers said. “They have like 70 more goals this year than we had last year, so they can find goals. They’re just experts at finishing on restarts. In the run of play, I think we put one off the crossbar. We were hoping to get something in the run of play, but I’ll take the three we got.”
Up next for the Falcons is Ladue Horton Watkins, a 2-0 winner over Mehlville, in the Class 3 semifinals.
“With our Catholic game and this game, if people are paying admission, they’re getting their money’s worth,” Rogers said. “But I’m excited for the kids; this is who we are. We train from Day One for postseason. This is a great group, and we’ll head to St. Louis and see what we can do.”
And Spence is ready.
“We just need to play our game, possess the ball, high pressure and just stay positive,” Spence said.
CLASS 3 QUARTERFINALS
GLENDALE 3, NEOSHO 2
NEOSHO 0-2—2
GLENDALE 2-1—3
First half
Glendale – Alex Spence (penalty kick on Haiden Casper foul), 35:45
Glendale – Cayden Meyer (assist by Andrei Balanean), 24:03
Second half
Glendale – Balanean (free kick on Spence foul), 35:00
Neosho – Gabe Zapete (unassisted), 17:06
Neosho – Zapete (Juan Perez assist), 11:43
Up next: Class 3 Semifinals – Glendale vs. Ladue Horton Watkins, 11 a.m., Nov. 19, at World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Fenton
