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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hornets Demolish St. Charles Lutheran

The Council of Trent would have been proud as the Fulton Hornets thoroughly dominated St. Charles Lutheran 6-0 on Wednesday.  While the display of soccer was not quite Baroque -- lacking as it did drama and crisis -- the Hornets demonstrated their artistry on the ball and with quick bold strokes conveyed a simple, easily understood message: we will win today.

While a satisfying win, the truth is that St. Charles Lutheran was a depleted opponent with only one sub.  And with a heat index of 102 at kickoff, St. Charles Lutheran was facing an uphill battle at best.

Fulton opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Jake Pierce ran onto a ball deep in the penalty box. He turned and found Chad Davis aloneat the top of the box. Davis took a settle and coolly measured his shot left upper 90.

Five minutes later, the Hornets struck again to make it 2-0.  As was the case all day, Pierce had acres of space to turn in front of the defense.  Pierce found Howie Lee on the right wing.  Lee delivered an inviting cross that Zach Thomas ssmashed home from the 6 yard box.

In the 33rd minute, Pierce took a pass from Davis and again found himself wide open.  Taking a quick glance up to see the keeper off the line, he launched a shot from 40 yards out that dropped just under the crossbar to make it 3-0.

Two minutes from halftime, Trevor Neal gathered up a loose balll just outside the box and drove forward.  Beating his defender, he was able to send a screamer past the keeper into the far post.

After halftime, the Hornets added two more goals to their haul for the day.  pierce found Darren Jones wide on the left.  jone cut inside and delivered an inch perfect cross to Thomas who volleyed it home.  Three. minutes later thomas (who was denied his hattrick moments before as he was ruled offside) latched on to a loose ball at the far post.  The keeper was able to get a hand to it, but only to push it into the side netting.

That rounded out the scoring, but credit must also be given to the defense.  senior Sam Mayne, making his debut in goal, recorded a clean sheet.  much of the credit goes to Nick Heimericks and Morgan Milligan, who renewed their partnership in central defense. Acknowledgment must also be made of the contributions of the substitutes, who performed ably and kept the pressure on St. Charles Lutheran throughout the game.

The Hornets will play next @ 4:00 on Friday on the stadium field (Fort Zumwalt North) against an opponent yet to be determined.

Tough Loss to St. Charles in Tourny Opener

The Fulton Hornets dropped their opening game of the Fort Zumwalt North (O'Fallon) tournament on Monday evening.  It was a game to be rued as the Hornets spotted St. Charles an undeserved two-goal lead before mounting a comeback that fell just a little short.

St. Charles opened the scoring in the 10th minute against the run of play when a long through ball put an attacker in alone.  He collectedthe ball and calmly smashed it to the far post past keeper Nick Heimericks.

A few minutes later disaster struck.  A miscommunication in the defense allowed a St. Charles player to swoop in on the right and drive a ball to the far post which nestled just inside the post. 0-2 with only 20 minutes gone.

While not an ideal situation, it afforded the team an opportunity to see how the players handled adversity.  Some handled it better than others, but the team as a whole responded well.  The Hornets continued to press and test the St. Charles keeper.

The effort finally paid off midway through the 2nd half.  Morgan Milligan, who gave the St. Charles back fits throughout the game, drove in from right flank position and slotted a ball to Chad Davis.  Davis' shot fell to Jake Pierce who struck it home from close range.

With the score now 1-2 the Hornets pressed for the equalizer.  Fulton came close with 10 minutes to go when Pierce's shot hit the keeper's trailing leg. Other opportunities went wide or high to leave the Hornets frustrated with a "what might have been" game.

The Hornets play again on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 against St. Charles Lutheran.