Republic Tiger soccer season ends in district semifinals to Ozark

A second-half scoring explosion by Ozark put the game away and ended Republic’s season in a 6-0 decision in the district semifinals. After building a 2-0 lead at halftime, then tacking on a goal shortly after the second half started, Ozark knocked out three more goals in a little over three minutes to put the game out of reach.
Republic had lost to Ozark 1-0 earlier in the season before a series of injuries hit the team. Throughout the season, coach Kevin Hauck had stressed to his team that their many one-goal losses proved they could compete with anyone when district play began. But after holding Ozark scoreless for about 25 minutes to start the game, things fell apart for Republic.
Hauck said the 6-0 score obscured the fact that Republic goalkeeper Drake Lightfoot played well against
a withering barrage of shots from Ozark.
“Drake played a great game. He made some fabulous saves, and they just hit some great shots on him.”
After the season-ending loss, Hauck said he believes the adversity his team experienced this season, which required him to play more younger players than expected, will pay off in the long run.
“I learned a lot this season
from moving around a lot of the younger players, seeing where they can benefit us in the future,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of people coming back next year, and so I think that I have a better under- standing of how to piece next year’s team together.”
The game was the last for Republic seniors Holden Kendrick, Braden Judson, Nathan Stalnaker, Jackson McGuire, Brendon Roberts and Isaac Jordan.