The Ozark Lady Tigers took the field for the first time this season in Waynesville. Not only did they look sharp in their new uniforms, they played sharp, too. At the end of the first half, the defensive lines had not been broken and neither team had been able to find the back of the net, although both had created opportunities.
Waynesville’s senior leaders stepped out in the first 10 minutes of the second half with determination. Senior Katie Pritchard attacked along the end line in the 44th minute to put Waynesville on the score board first. And senior Natascha Lord collected the ball at midfield and mounted a second solo attack in the 50th minute, placing a characteristic rocket into the far side of the goal to give her team a 2-0 lead. But the Ozark Lady Tigers were not going to settle for anything similar to last year’s match where they were defeated 5-0 by Waynesville. Ozark answered back in the 55th minute when junior Brittany Matthews knocked a cross from Kristin Glaubitz solidly into the back of the net.
Waynesville senior Katie Pritchard attacked along the end line again in the 66th minute. Her shot was deflected up into the air where Waynesville junior Erica Combs met it at the near post and headed it up and over Ozark keeper Paige Hemphill and into the far side of the goal for what eventually proved to be the game winner. But Ozark still was not willing to concede the game. Brittany Matthews found the back of the net again two minutes later in the 68th minute to draw Ozark back to within one goal of Waynesville. The majority of the final 12 minutes of the game was spent with Ozark attacking in their offensive third, working hard to get the equalizer. Unfortunately time expired with the final score 3-2 in favor of Waynesville, but the young Ozark Lady Tigers played tough and proved to be a worthy opponent for the senior heavy Waynesville team.
The Ozark Lady Tiger JV team won their first game of the season by a score of 3-0 over Waynesville. The first goal of the game for Ozark came in the 10th minute of play when a Waynesville player inadvertently cleared a ball into Ozark’s goal. The score remained 1-0 at half time, but then Ozark turned up the attack in the second half. Ozark’s JV squad scored their next goal in the 45th minute off a corner taken by freshman Danielle Poivre. Freshman Ellie Smidley (pictured above) got a foot on the ball and sent it towards goal where sophomore Taylor Jordan put a foot on it to redirect it into the back of the net. Taylor Jordan drove into the box in the 56th minute of play. She was taken down hard, but freshman teammate Mollie Killion was there to collect the loose ball and finish strong to give Ozark their third and final goal of the match.