Ozark Tigers Soccer

The Ozark Lady Tigers recorded two victories on Tuesday night against the Lady Tigers from Waynesville.  In the 5:00 o’clock JV match, the Ozark JV walked away with a 2-0 victory.  Freshman Meghan Stacy scored her fourth goal of the season midway through the first half on an assist from junior Hannah Picard (pictured above).  And freshman Keysha Burns added the second goal in the closing minutes of the second half with an assist from freshman Mikaela Branson.

It was a hat trick for junior forward Alicia Collard (with three goals on three assists from teammate Megan Gunnels) that paved the way to a 4-0 victory for the Ozark Lady Tigers in the varsity match.  Sophomore Jackie Wacha volleyed the fourth goal in on a ball served to the back side of the 6-yard box by Collard.  Ozark dominated possession and played a majority of the game on the attack.  The score was 1-0 at halftime, then Ozark added three more goals by the 66th minute, allowing the starters to take a break and giving the freshmen and sophomores on the bench a chance to finish out the game and gain some more valuable minutes of playing time against strong competition.  With the win, the Ozark varsity squad improves its early season record to 4-1, including three shutouts for keeper Paige Hemphill.

The Ozark Lady Tigers opened a busy week with a home field victory over the Bolivar Lady Liberators. In the first half, the Ozark squad battled both the Lady Liberators and a very strong head wind blowing from the south. The first goal of the game came in the 17th minute of play when Ozark sophomore defender Jayme Braun collected a loose ball near midfield on the left side of the field and served a ball over the defense and into the 18 yard box where senior Brittany Matthews was able to run onto it from her right midfield position and strike the ball past the Bolivar keeper from 12 yards out to give the Tigers the early lead. The strong south wind continued to blow and cause problems for the Lady Tigers for the remainder of the half , catching and redirecting several balls played off the ground, and bending many Ozark passes out of bounds. In the 33rd minute of play, Bolivar sophomore forward Jonna Welch took advantage of an assist from the wind as it redirected an Ozark defender’s header, which was intended to clear the ball back up field, and instead blew the ball back over the defensive line where Welch pounced on the ball and accelerated towards goal, launching a rocket shot with the wind into the upper 90 of the goal to level the score at 1-1.

In the second half, now with the wind in their backs, the Lady Tigers were able to step up their attacking efforts. The eventual game winning goal was scored by sophomore Mollie Killion in the 52nd minute of play. Ozark would get two more goals late in the game to seal a 4-1 victory over Bolivar. Goal #3 was scored when junior forward Taylor Jordan played a ball through two defenders and into space on the right side of the field where junior forward Alicia Collard was able to run onto it and turn towards goal several steps ahead of the defenders. The Bolivar keeper had no chance of stopping the bullet that Collard unleashed as she neared the goal box. And in the final minute of play, Ozark juniors Megan Jenisch and Megan Gunnels teamed up for goal #4. Jenisch started the attack down the left flank. She played the ball to Megan Gunnels who skillfully laid the ball back towards the top left corner of the 18-yard box for Jenisch to curl back to it and strike it with one touch over the outstretched fingertips of the keeper and into the back of the net. Seconds later time expired with the Lady Tigers earning a 4-1 victory over the Bolivar Lady Liberators.

In the earlier JV match, the Ozark Lady Tiger junior varsity team opened their season with an impressive 3-0 victory over the junior varsity team from Bolivar. Ozark freshman Meghan Stacy recorded a hat trick in her first outing as an OHS Lady Tiger, scoring all three goals to lead her team to victory.

The Varsity Game against Parkview has been rescheduled for Friday, April 10th at 5:00 pm at Ozark.

The JV Game against Greenwood will still be played on Friday, May 8th at 5:00 pm at Ozark.

The Ozark Lady Tigers won their first game played on the new pitch at Ozark Tiger Stadium on Friday, March 27th.  On a cold and windy afternoon, the Ozark squad matched up against the Lady Jaguars from Blue Springs South.  Blue Springs South controlled the pace of the game for the first twenty minutes and maintained a majority of the possession during the opening minutes of the game as Ozark set back in a more defensive position and evaluated their opponent.  But as Blue Springs South brought in several subs off the bench halfway through the first half, the momentum of the game and possession of the ball began to swing towards the Lady Tigers.  At the break, the score was knotted at nil-nil.  Ozark came out in the second half and continued to move the ball well.  And the eventual game winning goal came in the 55th minute when junior midfielder Megan Stodden (pictured above) made a beautiful pass to junior forward Taylor Jordan as she made a run inside the eighteen on the right side of the field.  Jordan received the pass on the run, took a couple touches, and placed her shot strongly between the Blue Springs South keeper and the right post to give give Ozark a 1-0 lead.  And although the Lady Jaguars fought hard and mounted several attacks during the course of the game, the Ozark defense, lead by junior Megan Jenisch in the center back position and goalkeeper Paige Hemphill, stood strong and denied all scoring attempts.  Both Jenisch and Hemphill did an excellent job of directing their teammates and ensuring that all attacking efforts mounted by Blue Springs South were shutdown quickly.  It was a solid win for the Lady Tigers in their first game played on their new “home turf”.

And with less than an hour to rest between games, the Lady Tigers stepped back out onto the field to face their second opponent of the night, the Lady Panthers of Park Hill South.  The Lady Panthers, who were also playing their second game of the evening after defeating the Kickapoo Lady Chiefs 2-0 in their earlier match, were skilled, fast, and appeared to be extremely well conditioned.  They communicated well, passed the ball well, and as a result of these factors spent the majority of the 80 minutes on the attack.  Ozark, on the other hand, spent a big part of the second game chasing and playing defense in their defensive third.  Park Hill South’s first goal of the evening came in the 25th minute of play on a well struck shot by #23.  Then with three minutes left in the first half, #24 for PHS made a run down the left side of the field.  The Ozark defender that was about to tackle and clear the ball away had the misfortune of slipping and as she hit the turf, the PHS player turned to goal.  Ozark keeper Paige Hemphill came out to meet her along the end line, but the PHS midfielder was able to release the ball to PHS #10 at the top of the 6-yard box and #10 was able to muscle the ball through the last Ozark defender and into the goal to give the Lady Panthers a 2-0 lead going into halftime.  In the second half, Park Hill South had numerous additional scoring attempts, all but one thwarted by Ozark keeper Paige Hemphill who got a major workout Friday night.  The one additional goal for the Panthers came late in the second half when a hard struck clearance by sophomore defender Jayme Braun ricocheted off the stomach of a charging Panther attacker into the goal (not sure if the PHS player felt lucky to score a goal or unlucky to receive the full force of the clearance).  The final score was 0-3 in favor of the Lady Panthers.

The Ozark Lady Tigers defeated the Harrison Lady Goblins in their season opener in Arkansas on Tuesday, March 24th.  In the opening minutes of the game, Ozark moved the ball around the field with confidence. They opened the scoring in the 6th minute of play, when junior forward Megan Gunnels cracked a shot from just inside the eighteen that was knocked down by the Goblin keeper, and sophomore forward Jackie Wacha was there to volley the loose ball into the back of the net to score the first goal of the season and her high school soccer career for the Lady Tigers.  Six minutes later, junior forward Alicia Collard received the ball on the right side of the field with her back to the goal and flicked it to Gunnels near the six-yard box.  Gunnels settled the ball, took a touch past the last Goblin defender, and struck a hard low shot past the keeper into the back of the net to give the Lady Tigers a 2-0 lead.  Another six minutes later, sophomore Jayme Braun received the ball near midfield and began an attacking run up the left side towards goal. Braun passed the ball to Gunnels in the arc just outside the 18 and continued her run into the box. Gunnels played the ball back into Braun’s path where she took a touch and then blasted a shot through the keeper’s hands and into the goal to extend Ozark’s lead to 3-0.  The Lady Tigers continued to press the attack and earned a corner kick in the 21st minute of play.  Gunnels took the corner and bent the ball into the six-yard box where it spun off a Goblin defender and into the goal to further advance the Lady Tiger’s lead to 4-0. Coach Davidson was able to rotate his starters and provide significant minutes of playing time to the four additional sophomores and two freshmen on the Ozark roster during the rest of the first half.  At the break, the score was still 4-0 in favor of the Lady Tigers.

In the second half, Coach Davidson decided to give his freshman keeper, Mikaela Branson, some valuable minutes in goal.  Starting keeper, junior Paige Hemphill, was relieved of her duty in the 50th minute. The Harrison Lady Goblins were not going down without a fight, however. They continued to work hard and their efforts paid off in the 58th minute when they were able to put together a string of passes that eventually managed to break through Ozark’s defensive line and net a goal. The Goblin defense, led by their keeper Jessica Kelly, also made a stand in the second half and were successful in denying any additional goals by the Lady Tigers. And as time expired in the first match of the season for the Ozark squad, the score remained 4-1 in favor of the Lady Tigers.

The junior varsity match against Harrison has been cancelled for Tuesday, March 24th.  The varsity game will start at 5:00 pm.

Directions:

Follow 65 South to Harrison and turn right on Airport Road.
Follow Airport Road a couple miles (it turns into Industrial Park Road as you make a sharp left).
Turn right on Goblin Drive.
To access FS Garrison Stadium turn left at the first Harrison Middle School entrance and follow to the bus parking on the back side of the indoor center.

Physical Addresses:
Soccer Complex  202 Old Stone Wall Rd  Harrison, AR 72601
FS Garrison Stadium  1754 Burls Way Harrison, AR 72601

The JV game on Friday, April 24th, against Carl Junction has been moved up to 4:00 pm.

The Lady Tigers annual “Red & White” scrimmage is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17th (St. Patty’s Day) from 5:30 to 6:30 pm on the turf in the stadium at Ozark High School.

Pizza will be available at the cost of $4.00 per person after the scrimmage for all players and their families.  The pizza will served under the walkway by the concession stand on Tuesday because the cafeteria at the high school was already booked for another event.

Please RSVP to bethh@ricksautomotive.com as soon as possible, and no later than tomorrow afternoon, Friday the 13th, to let Beth know how many in your family are planning to eat pizza so the final count for the pizza order can be established.  Beth will also be contacting families to assign responsibility to provide side items for the meal as soon as a final head count for the meal is determined.

Please plan to attend for an exciting night of soccer and a first look at our 2009 Lady Tiger Soccer Team.  This is a great opportunity to get to know each other before the season starts and to meet all the new members of the team and their families.