Republic soccer earns split in busy opening week

The Republic Lady Tigers soccer team jumped into the new season with four matches in five days, and they came away with a split. After losing the season opener against Springfield Glendale, Republic rebounded with wins over Rolla (in overtime penalty kicks) and Rogersville. They wrapped up the week with a loss to Sedalia Smith-Cotton, also in overtime PKs.
Glendale 2 Republic 1 Springfield Glendale
struck quickly, scoring two goals in the opening 10 minutes, then held on for a 2-1 victory. Both Glendale goals happened after defensive breakdowns by the Lady Tigers. Republic mounted
several attacks deep into the Glendale defense in the last 20 minutes, but managed just one goal all night. That was a Clara Fronabarger score.
Republic 2 Rolla 1 (3-2 PKs) For the second straight
night, Republic fell behind early. But this time, the Lady Tigers managed to fight their way out of the hole. Goal- keeper Bella Drennan, in just her second varsity start, made three saves during the overtime penalty kicks to lift Republic to victory.
The Bulldogs scored first, just two minutes into the match, when Abbie Turner scored on an assist from Ellie Rodgers. It took 72 minutes for Republic to even the
score. Abbie Hicks tied the game with a goal in the 74th minute, and neither team managed a goal through the rest of regulation or 20 minutes of overtime.
“It’s a good quality win for us,” said coach Kevin Hauck. “The girls never gave up and just kept fighting. I’m really proud of how they worked tonight.”
Clara Fronabarger, Anna Jones, and Grace Lightfoot all scored on their PKs for Republic.
Republic 6 Rogersville 2 The Lady Tigers scored
three goals in the first 23 minutes, cruising to a 6-2 win at home against Rogersville. It was a welcome change for Republic after
scoring just two goals in the first 180 minutes of the season.
“Tuesday... one of our main points we talked about was, ‘Hey, we have to have girls who want to score out there besides just one,’ and the girls really responded well to that,” said coach Kevin Hauck. “I thought we were really aggressive and looking for good opportunities when they presented them to us. And then we did a nice job of taking advantage of that.”
Jaiden Gibbs scored first, corralling a rebound off the left goalpost and sending it back into the net. Sarah Hicks and Emma Duvall each scored within the next seven minutes to make it
3-0. “It was nice tonight to get
aggressive out of the gates because Monday and Tuesday we fell behind really fast. And so tonight, to start out as strong as we did and really be aggressive... I believe that really helped us a lot,” Hauck said. “That gives us a lot of confidence in a game, and it allows for us to have momentum throughout it.”
McKaelyn Klossing scored in the 61st minute to offset Rogersville’s first goal, making it 4-1. After an- other Rogersville goal, Clara Fronabarger added two more for Republic to account for the final score.
Sedalia Smith-Cotton 2 Republic 1 (4-3 PKs) Republic was just a minute away from its third win of the week, but a late penalty proved costly in an overtime loss against Sedalia Smith- Cotton. Republic led 1-0 for most of the game before losing on overtime penalty kicks 2-1.
Emma Pearce gave Republic the lead six minutes into the game with a header off an Anna Jones corner kick. The Lady Tigers controlled possession for most of the game and led until the 79th minute, when Smith- Cotton evened the score on a free kick from just outside the goal box.
Neither team scored in the two 10-minute overtime periods, and Smith-Cotton outscored Republic in penalty kicks 4-3.