Hornets Coast to Victory Against Montgomery County

The JV game in a microcosm: the Fulton Hornets soared above the Montgomery County Wildcats on Monday night. Jonathan Perry, Brian McCarty, and Trevor Neal prepare for the arrival of the Hornet's corner kick.

In the varsity match "Coach" Seelinger surveys the action as Coach Milligan relaxes. Midfielder Jakob Hull is in the foreground.

It was an embarrassment of riches Monday evening as both Fulton squads posted impressive victories against Montgomery County. The JV squad won by a gaudy 13-0 in the first match and the varsity put up 10 before the mercy rule ended the game.

In the varsity match Montgomery County played bravely and were unlucky not to put up two goals of their own with a shot that struck the crossbar (and that by the slimmest of margins stayed out of the goal) as well as a narrowly-missed breakaway. Nevertheless, it was the Fulton boys that dictated the action on the field.

Defender Nick Heimericks came forward on several deadball situations, which twice paid dividends in the first half. In the 12th minute, Jake Pierce unleashed a hard freekick which the keeper spilled. Heimericks pounced on the loose ball and left-footed the ball into the roof of the net. Heimericks also scored the last goal of the half, heading in a freekick from Chad Davis in the 34th minute. The curving inswinger found Heimericks on the back post and he made no mistake about the finish.

Between the two Heimericks' goals, several other Fulton players joined in the action. In the 17th minute, Pierce played a through ball to break the Montgomery County offside trap. The pass put Davis alone on goal and he curled his shot away from the keeper with his left foot to make the score 2-0.

Six minutes later freshman forward Trevor Neal took a pass down the left wing and after cutting the ball back, found Pierce just inside the box. With a quick turn, his measured shot curled into the side netting on the right to put the Hornets up by 3 goals. Pierce added to his tally moments later when a cross from Zach Thomas was cleverly left by Peter Plakorus to a wide open Pierce, who volleyed from 12 yards out to make the score 4-0.

Fulton scored again from the right side as sophomore midfielder Ben Kucera got into the scoring. A defensive miscue from the Montgomery County keeper saw Kucera's powerful shot from outside the box deflect in for his first varsity goal.

Coming out of the halftime break with a 6-0 lead, the Hornets went right back to work. In the 48th minute, sophomore Jakob Hull carried the ball from a deep lying midfield position to the top of the penalty area. An attempted block by a Montgomery County defender had the opposite result as the deflected shot left the keeper stranded as the ball looped into the opposite side of the goal.

Two more goals in quick succession put the Hornets up 9-0. Fifteen seconds after Hull's goal, Plakorus again played provider with a quick lateral pass to Zach Thomas who finished easily from inside the box. Plakorus himself scored scarcely more than a minute later off the corner from Darren Jones.

With the outcome certain, the Hornets methodically worked the ball around the field for a good fifteen minutes before ending the game on a solid goal from Thomas again. Thomas took a pass from Neal, turned, and fired into the left corner to end the game on the mercy rule in the 65th minute.

In the Junior Varsity game, the Hornets scored early and often with 10 players getting into the scoring column. Jakob Hull opened the onslaught in the 3rd minute and Zach Thomas added two goals in 2 minutes (the second on a nice assist from freshman Aaron Arms) to make the score 3-0 halfway through the first period. Darren Jones then put back a rebound off a shot from Peter Plakorus to make in 4-0 before Sam Mayne closed out the scoring in the first half with two goals from close range.

In the second half, it was more of the same. With the Hornets dominating possession, the game was played in Montgomery County's half. Sophomore defender Scott Strough moved up into the midfield and quickly took advantage of the more attacking role by sending in a curling shot from the edge of the box that beat the keeper. Plakorus then added a long-range goal from distance that dropped over the keeper to make the score 8-0. Sophomore defender Cody Pae then added two more within two minutes to make the score 10-0. Brian McCarty, Steven Maddox, and Jonathan Perry rounded off the scoring.

The Hornets return to action next Tuesday when they go on the road to play the Boonville Pirates.