Fulton took on a solid Mexico squad on the road today and came away with a 1-0 victory. The win moved the Hornets to 7-3 on the season and 5-0 in the conference.
The Hornets took the field with a somewhat different look today. Zach Thomas took on the challenge of marking Mexico's Christian McKeown -- who scored 19 goals as a freshman last year -- and so the Hornets played in a modified 4-4-2. In addition, the Hornets were without the services of two midfielders, so Chad Davis moved into the center of midfield and Luke Nigus stepped into Davis' spot on the backline.
Despite the new configuration, the Hornets took to it well and took control of the match from the opening whistle. Throughout the first half, superior ball control and solid passing combinations allowed Fulton to mount numerous attacks on the Mexico end. However, the narrow field and an organized Mexico defense meant it was difficult to find the space to get behind the Mexico back line. The Hornets were content to try their luck from distance with their best chances coming of free kicks. Meanwhile the defense did well in containing the Mexico attack, limiting them to just three chances that never really tested keeper Nick Heimericks. The half ended 0-0.
In the second half, the Hornets again had the better chances, but seemed content to play long, hopeful balls to the forwards rather than using a short passing game to unlock the Mexico defense. Ultimately it was a little bit of good fortune and hustle that provided the game winner in the 16th minute. Chad Davis cut inside from the wide midfield and unleashed a powerful shot that was partially blocked. The deflection spun goalward and was headed in, but the scrambling keeper was able to just push it onto the bar. A couple of Hornets crashed the goal with Trevor Neal getting the decisive touch to knock it over the line.
In the JV game that followed, Mexico was forced to rely on several varsity players to round out their depleted roster. Still the Hornets did well, especially the defense. While Hadi Katish and Jonathan Perry performed well in the center of the defense, tracking back to snuff out numerous breakaways, the real hero was Daniel Lair. Playing almost as a sweeper/keeper, he was called upon to come out of goal several times to stop solo runs from the Mexico attackers, often nicking the ball away just in time. Unfortunately, a defensive lapse allowed McKeown to strike a beauty of a shot from outside the box that found the upper 90 to win the shortened game for Mexico.
Fulton will host Moberly on Tuesday night in a contest between the two conference co-leaders (both teams are perfect in conference action). There will be no JV game.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Hornets Take Down Hannibal, 3-2
The Hornets traveled to Hannibal on Thursday night and came away with a 3-2 victory. Two goals by Jake Pierce and another by Trevor Neal paced the Hornets to the victory, which moved them to 4-0 in the conference.
The Hornets got off to a quick start. The game was played on the artificial turf of the Hannibal football stadium, which suited Fulton just fine. The passing was crisp and the Hornets mounted several early attacks on the Hannibal goal. Unfortunately, a free kick deep in the Hornets' end resulted in a penalty kick as a Fulton player was whistled for a push in the box. Hannibal converted to make it 1-0 barely six minutes into the game.
To their credit, the Hornets kept their composure and continued to knock the ball around the field. Their reward came in the 22nd minute. Jake Pierce took a Zach Thomas flick, out-muscled his defender, and drove into the box. As the keeper came out, Pierce deftly tucked the ball just inside the right post to level the score at 1-1.
In the second half, the Hornets came out ready to play. In the 43rd minute, the Hornets went on top after a nice passing sequence at the top of the box. Trevor Neal settled a long pass and squared it to Jakob Hull, who one-touched it to Pierce. Pierce laid it off for Neal on the overlap, who drove into the left side of the box. His cutback move to the inside gave him enough room to unleash a powerful shot that proved too much for the Hannibal keeper as the ball went through his hands. The keeper dove in an attempt to recover the ball, but in vain.
The Hornets got off to a quick start. The game was played on the artificial turf of the Hannibal football stadium, which suited Fulton just fine. The passing was crisp and the Hornets mounted several early attacks on the Hannibal goal. Unfortunately, a free kick deep in the Hornets' end resulted in a penalty kick as a Fulton player was whistled for a push in the box. Hannibal converted to make it 1-0 barely six minutes into the game.
To their credit, the Hornets kept their composure and continued to knock the ball around the field. Their reward came in the 22nd minute. Jake Pierce took a Zach Thomas flick, out-muscled his defender, and drove into the box. As the keeper came out, Pierce deftly tucked the ball just inside the right post to level the score at 1-1.
In the second half, the Hornets came out ready to play. In the 43rd minute, the Hornets went on top after a nice passing sequence at the top of the box. Trevor Neal settled a long pass and squared it to Jakob Hull, who one-touched it to Pierce. Pierce laid it off for Neal on the overlap, who drove into the left side of the box. His cutback move to the inside gave him enough room to unleash a powerful shot that proved too much for the Hannibal keeper as the ball went through his hands. The keeper dove in an attempt to recover the ball, but in vain.
Thirteen minutes later the Hornets struck again to make it 3-1. Pierce took a pass around midfield and curled back to his left. His well-placed chip found Zach Thomas on the right side of the field. Thomas used his speed and a change of direction to get into the box and practically "baited" his defender into the foul. The defender really had no choice. Either chop him down or let him in alone on goal. On the ensuing penalty, Pierce calmly powered his shot past the keeper.
With the game seemingly in hand, the Hornets appeared to be on course to cruise to victory. However, the Pirates made matters interesting in the last five minutes. A hand ball on a Hornet player on the edge of the box resulted in a free kick. The wall failed to do its job and left the near side of the goal exposed to the powerfully-driven shot. Goal, Hannibal. An inexplicable (trust me, we asked for an explanation, but it still made no sense) red card with a minute remaining then reduced the Hornets to 10 men. Fortunately, the Hornets were able to run out the clock and take home the victory.
In the JV game, the Hornets and Pirates battled to a 0-0 tie. The Hornets played good, attractive soccer with several nice passing combinations. Man of the match honors must go freshman keeper Jared Strough. Alone on a breakaway, he not only made himself huge, but he came up with a huge save to preserve the tie.
The Hornets travel to Mexico on Saturday morning.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Hornets Take Down Kirksville, 6-0
The Hornets returned to conference action -- and their winning ways -- on Tuesday night as Fulton hosted the Kirksville Tigers. The Hornets would score all the goals they needed in the first half, but added five more in the second to win 6-0.
SoBoCo Wallops Hornets, 4-2
The SoBoCo Eagles came to play last Thursday and defeated the Hornets 4-2 in an emotional match between the two long-standing rivals.
Despite the equalizer, the Eagles continue to press the action. Their speed put the Hornets back on their heels in the remaining 20 minutes of the half.
The Eagles took the early lead on a defensive miscue in the 15th minute when two defenders crashed into each other, turning an easy clearance into a loose ball in front of the Hornets goal. SoBoCo reacted first and took a 1-0 lead.
With the Hornets reeling and the Eagles flying all over the field, the prospects looked bleak for the home side. However against the run of play, the Hornets got the equalizer in the 20th minutes. From his midfield position, Jakob Hull put Zach Thomas through on the right side. Thomas was able to turn the corner on his man and drive towards the SoBoCo goal. His threat drew out the keeper and his smart cross was met by a charging Jake Pierce who poked it into the open net.
With the Hornets reeling and the Eagles flying all over the field, the prospects looked bleak for the home side. However against the run of play, the Hornets got the equalizer in the 20th minutes. From his midfield position, Jakob Hull put Zach Thomas through on the right side. Thomas was able to turn the corner on his man and drive towards the SoBoCo goal. His threat drew out the keeper and his smart cross was met by a charging Jake Pierce who poked it into the open net.
Despite the equalizer, the Eagles continue to press the action. Their speed put the Hornets back on their heels in the remaining 20 minutes of the half.
After the break, the Hornets came out buzzing and employed a smothering defense. For the first 10 minutes, Fulton had the advantage with most of the action being on SoBoCo's end. Unfortunately, the referee saw the tight defense differently and whistled the Hornets for numerous fouls, the most important being a PK, which was converted to make it 1-2 in favor of the Eagles.
The Hornets felt hard done by the call and allowed their emotions to get the better of them. That, and a couple of ill-timed injuries, proved fatal against a very talented SoBoCo squad. The Eagles added 2 more goals before Fulton added a consolation goal in the final minute. Pierce out jumped the keeper to knock in a freekick from Darren Jones.
In the JV match, SoBoCo again took the early lead. However, Fulton keeper Daniel Lair played the match of his life to keep the Eagles at bay and in the 41st minute (11th minute of the 2nd half) Fulton equalized. Junior Cody Pae crossed into the box to find sophomore Cody Baumgartner. Baumgartner settled, turned, and unleashed a powerful shot into the far netting past the keeper. It was goal any player -- at any level -- would be proud to claim.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Jeff City Proves Too Tough for Fulton
It was a tough outing for Fulton tonight as they hosted the Jefferson City Jays. The Jays prevailed in both contests winning 2-0 in the varsity game and 6-0 in the junior varsity.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Hornets Get Big Wins at Marshall
Veni, vedi, vici. (We came, we saw, we conquered.)
The Fulton Hornets travelled to Marshall on Thursday night and made a strong statement that they intend to be a contender for the conference title with a 3-1 win. Jake Pierce scored twice and Zach Thomas added another. Sam Mayne did well to secure the win.
In the jv game, the Hornets prevailed 1-0 on a goal from Cody Pae.
Full match reports will be posted tomorrow.
The Fulton Hornets travelled to Marshall on Thursday night and made a strong statement that they intend to be a contender for the conference title with a 3-1 win. Jake Pierce scored twice and Zach Thomas added another. Sam Mayne did well to secure the win.
In the jv game, the Hornets prevailed 1-0 on a goal from Cody Pae.
Full match reports will be posted tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Home Openers Are Emphatic Wins for Both Squads
The Fulton Hornets opened their home schedule with solid wins against Boonville on Tuesday night. In the JV game the Hornets prevailed 3-1 while the varsity cruised to a 7-0 victory.
In the varsity match, the Hornets apparently conjured up the ghosts of the Magnificent Magyars, the legendary national team of Hungary that dominated world soccer in the 1950s. Led by the unparalleled Ferenc Puskás, the Hungarian squad pioneered a free-flowing passing game later made famous by the "total football" of the 1970s Dutch team. The Hungarians, with their intricate passing, utterly embarrassed the soccer powerhouses of the day, beating England, for example, 7-1 and West Germany 8-3. Such was their dominance, that the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland was considered a coronation. Surprisingly, though, they lost to W. Germany 2-3 in what the Germans called the "Miracle of Bern." Puskás and his teammates would flee Hungary during the 1956 revolution -- a blow from which the Hungarian side would never recover. Puskás would move on to play for Real Madrid and become one of their greatest stars. He died in 2006, but his name will forever be remembered in football. Not only is the Puskás move named after him, but his name also graces the award given by FIFA for the "most beautiful goal" of the year. For more on Puskás and the 1954 World Cup, view this:
But I digress. :-) (Believe me, I have more, much more.)
Back to the Boonville game. Fulton took possession of the match from the opening whistle and it was really only a matter of time before Fulton scored. Crisp passing (made possible by the fantastic field - thanks, Tim Echelmeier) and intelligent runs carved open the young Boonville squad. The Hornets took the lead in the 8th minute when Jake Pierce made an overlapping run on the left side. He cut into the box and drove along the endline before slotting a ball for the easy finish by junior midfielder Ben Kucera, who tucked it inside the far post.
Fulton squandered a number of subsequent chances before taking a 2-0 lead in the 23rd minute. Off a restart from about 35 yards out, Morgan Milligan sent in a perfect teasing ball that drew out the Boonville keeper. Unfortunately for him, Pierce was able to rise high in the air and head the ball into the near post netting.
In the second half the Hornets poured it on. 7 minutes in, Fulton scored again to make it 3-0. Jakob Hull split the defense to find an onrushing Trevor Neal whose shot was barely parried by the keeper, but it fell to a lurking Zach Thomas on the backdoor who made no mistake about the finish.
Moments later (49th minute), the Hornets struck again. Pierce used his chest to deftly settle a chipped cross from Darren Jones. While the keeper was able to save Pierce's one-time effort, again it fell to a crashing Fulton player. This time it was Neal who took advantage and hammered home a shot to the near post to make it 4-0.
The comfortable lead allowed Fulton to give some playing time to some younger players, who acquitted themselves well. Freshmen Cody Baumgartner looked quite comfortable in the midfield, while his classmate, Kevin Wallace was able to head home a corner from Chad Davis in the 58th minute to give Fulton a 5-0 lead.
Pierce got his brace on a well-placed freekick that he earned at the edge of the box when he cleverly turned on an entry pass from Howie Lee. The quick turn left the defender with no choice but to trip him. On the ensuing freekick, Pierce curled a precise ball around the wall and just inside the post. The keeper made a brave effort diving towards the post, but couldn't get a hand on the ball.
Fulton's final goal came on a nice passing sequence between Hull and Thomas up the right side of the Boonville defense that culminated in a curving shot from the edge of the box by Neal. Neal's shot, which gave him two for the night, tucked just inside the left post.
While the offense gets the attention, the back line of Milligan, Davis, Jones, and Nick Heimericks stymied any attempts by Boonville to score against senior keeper Sam Mayne, who recorded his second clean sheet of the season. All in all, it was a very good performance by all the boys to inaugurate the refurbished Fulton field.
Junior Varsity
In the junior varsity match, it was another dominating win. The Hornets again jumped out to an early lead. After a couple of quick scoring chances off of good runs on the left side by freshmen Craig Lattey and Kevin Wallace, Fulton's first goal came from the right. In the 3rd minute, freshman forward Austin Wilson send in a good cross that fellow freshman Ricky Dawson latched on to to knock it past the keeper from close range.
Three minutes later, the Hornets struck again, this time on a corner from the left. Cody Baumgartner's corner could have been pounced on by several Hornets, but it was Wilson who poked it home to double the Hornets' lead.
Meanwhile, the Fulton defense -- lead by sophomore keeper Daniel Lair -- did well to keep the Boonville Pirates at bay.
In the second half, each team scored. In the 40th minute (jv matches are 70 minutes long), Wilson got on the end of a Matt Henry cross to secure his second goal of the night to make it 3-0. Boonville was able to use one of their pacy players to threaten the Fulton goal. In the 54th minute, Jared Strough came up with a big save on a breakaway, but was left marooned by his defense again in the 60th minute. Boonville scored to make it 3-1, but that was all the scoring in the jv game.
Fulton returns to action on Thursday evening as they travel to Marshall for a key away test. The junior varsity plays at 5:00, with varsity to follow.
In the varsity match, the Hornets apparently conjured up the ghosts of the Magnificent Magyars, the legendary national team of Hungary that dominated world soccer in the 1950s. Led by the unparalleled Ferenc Puskás, the Hungarian squad pioneered a free-flowing passing game later made famous by the "total football" of the 1970s Dutch team. The Hungarians, with their intricate passing, utterly embarrassed the soccer powerhouses of the day, beating England, for example, 7-1 and West Germany 8-3. Such was their dominance, that the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland was considered a coronation. Surprisingly, though, they lost to W. Germany 2-3 in what the Germans called the "Miracle of Bern." Puskás and his teammates would flee Hungary during the 1956 revolution -- a blow from which the Hungarian side would never recover. Puskás would move on to play for Real Madrid and become one of their greatest stars. He died in 2006, but his name will forever be remembered in football. Not only is the Puskás move named after him, but his name also graces the award given by FIFA for the "most beautiful goal" of the year. For more on Puskás and the 1954 World Cup, view this:
But I digress. :-) (Believe me, I have more, much more.)
Back to the Boonville game. Fulton took possession of the match from the opening whistle and it was really only a matter of time before Fulton scored. Crisp passing (made possible by the fantastic field - thanks, Tim Echelmeier) and intelligent runs carved open the young Boonville squad. The Hornets took the lead in the 8th minute when Jake Pierce made an overlapping run on the left side. He cut into the box and drove along the endline before slotting a ball for the easy finish by junior midfielder Ben Kucera, who tucked it inside the far post.
Fulton squandered a number of subsequent chances before taking a 2-0 lead in the 23rd minute. Off a restart from about 35 yards out, Morgan Milligan sent in a perfect teasing ball that drew out the Boonville keeper. Unfortunately for him, Pierce was able to rise high in the air and head the ball into the near post netting.
In the second half the Hornets poured it on. 7 minutes in, Fulton scored again to make it 3-0. Jakob Hull split the defense to find an onrushing Trevor Neal whose shot was barely parried by the keeper, but it fell to a lurking Zach Thomas on the backdoor who made no mistake about the finish.
Moments later (49th minute), the Hornets struck again. Pierce used his chest to deftly settle a chipped cross from Darren Jones. While the keeper was able to save Pierce's one-time effort, again it fell to a crashing Fulton player. This time it was Neal who took advantage and hammered home a shot to the near post to make it 4-0.
The comfortable lead allowed Fulton to give some playing time to some younger players, who acquitted themselves well. Freshmen Cody Baumgartner looked quite comfortable in the midfield, while his classmate, Kevin Wallace was able to head home a corner from Chad Davis in the 58th minute to give Fulton a 5-0 lead.
Pierce got his brace on a well-placed freekick that he earned at the edge of the box when he cleverly turned on an entry pass from Howie Lee. The quick turn left the defender with no choice but to trip him. On the ensuing freekick, Pierce curled a precise ball around the wall and just inside the post. The keeper made a brave effort diving towards the post, but couldn't get a hand on the ball.
Fulton's final goal came on a nice passing sequence between Hull and Thomas up the right side of the Boonville defense that culminated in a curving shot from the edge of the box by Neal. Neal's shot, which gave him two for the night, tucked just inside the left post.
While the offense gets the attention, the back line of Milligan, Davis, Jones, and Nick Heimericks stymied any attempts by Boonville to score against senior keeper Sam Mayne, who recorded his second clean sheet of the season. All in all, it was a very good performance by all the boys to inaugurate the refurbished Fulton field.
Junior Varsity
In the junior varsity match, it was another dominating win. The Hornets again jumped out to an early lead. After a couple of quick scoring chances off of good runs on the left side by freshmen Craig Lattey and Kevin Wallace, Fulton's first goal came from the right. In the 3rd minute, freshman forward Austin Wilson send in a good cross that fellow freshman Ricky Dawson latched on to to knock it past the keeper from close range.
Three minutes later, the Hornets struck again, this time on a corner from the left. Cody Baumgartner's corner could have been pounced on by several Hornets, but it was Wilson who poked it home to double the Hornets' lead.
Meanwhile, the Fulton defense -- lead by sophomore keeper Daniel Lair -- did well to keep the Boonville Pirates at bay.
In the second half, each team scored. In the 40th minute (jv matches are 70 minutes long), Wilson got on the end of a Matt Henry cross to secure his second goal of the night to make it 3-0. Boonville was able to use one of their pacy players to threaten the Fulton goal. In the 54th minute, Jared Strough came up with a big save on a breakaway, but was left marooned by his defense again in the 60th minute. Boonville scored to make it 3-1, but that was all the scoring in the jv game.
Fulton returns to action on Thursday evening as they travel to Marshall for a key away test. The junior varsity plays at 5:00, with varsity to follow.
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