Coach Mike Armstrong's Tiger soccer team fought host Kickapoo tooth and nail Tuesday night, but could not advance in the Class Four State Tournament, losing narrowly 1-0.  The Chiefs made a late first half goal stand up through their strong possession game.

The Chiefs simply had a superior passing night to maintain control of the ball.  On several occasions they put together a series of perfect passes to move down field or deny the Tigers possession.  Sophomore Ian Hansen scored what would be the winner with 11:05 left in the first half.  Hansen received a nice pass through the Tigers' back line and raced for the net.  Jon Moore hurried out from goal to cut down the angle, but Hansen got his shot off just below the dive. 

The Tigers had their chances.  Early in the game Caleb Rodriguez collected a nice serve forward, but a KHS defender touched the ball away from him just before his shot.  At the 15:40 mark, a red zone throw in resulted in both teams heading the ball several times.  It finally landed at the feet of Tremayne Watterson, but his shot sailed high. 

Kickapoo nearly went up 2-0 early in the second half, but Riley King  covered the open goal mouth and made a big defensive save to keep the Tigers in striking distance.  WHS did have its opportunities as it steadily pressed Kickapoo for the ball and went on the attack whenever possession changed.  Rodriquez missed a shot wide from 30 feet out and a corner kick went high off a Tiger's head instead of towards the net.  Inside the final ten minutes Chase Holden shot wide right from center of the field, a long Mark Ortiz shot from the right was saved by the Kickapoo keeper, and with 1:46 left, Holden had a breakaway broken up inside the 18.  The ensuing scramble for the ball resulted in a Tiger throwin opportunity, but a Waynesville foul at 1:08 essentially ended the game. 

The tight Waynesville defense limited Kickapoo to just four shots on goal for the night, after allowing 15 such attempts in the two teams' Ozark Conference game earlier this fall.  The Tigers' season comes to an end with  their first trip to the state tournament and a 16-9 record, equaling the school's most wins in a season.  Afterwards, Coach Armstrong acknowledged his boys' effort by saying, "We gave them a game."  No one would agree more that Kickapoo.