By: Todd Pridemore
SBC entered the Class 2 District 4 soccer tournament as the #1 seed last week. Three of the teams in the district were from central Missouri – Fulton, Mexico, and Southern Boone – while the remaining four schools were all located a bit west of St. Louis: St. Charles West, Winfield, Christian, and Wright City. The beneficiary of a first-round bye, the Eagles waited until Wednesday to start play in the tournament, when they faced #5 seed Winfield (13-12) on the Warriors’ home field. It was a competitive match, but the Eagles played one of their better games of the season. In the 7th minute, defender Alejandro Pagoada chipped the ball from midfield over the Winfield back line. Forward Jack McCluskey worked to gain good position against a defender as the ball landed and was rewarded with an open shot on the keeper. McCluskey’s shot was true and gave SBC the early 1-0 lead. Mason Ahern missed two challenging header attempts as the half progressed, but the Eagles added a second goal in the 31st minute. Ahern and James Brooks worked together to move the ball from the midfield to McCluskey at the top of the box. The senior forward’s rolling shot was well placed and beat the diving keeper to the left corner of the net. The game also had moments of controversy as there were two occasions – one in each half – when SBC players were obviously fouled within the Warriors’ box, but no whistle was blown. The second half began with SBC holding onto the 2-0 lead, but Winfield created several good scoring opportunities of their own in the final 40 minutes. Defenders Gavin Blackburn and Pogaoda made some exceptional one-on-one defensive stops to keep the Warriors from scoring. The Eagles erased any doubt of the game’s outcome with three minutes remaining. Brooks pushed the ball up the left sideline and served a perfectly placed ball into the middle of the box. Forward Cal Montgomery’s one-touch shot out of the air put the ball in the back of the net for the 3-0 victory. Aidan Bukowsky recorded the shutout in goal for Southern Boone.
Junior Cal Montgomery (7) prepares to shoot during last week’s district contest against Winfield. Montgomery scored one goal in the 3-0 victory for the Eagles. (Photo By: Carolyn Pridemore)
See more in this weeks Boone County Journal
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