The Waynesville Tiger Soccer team traveled west to I-44 neighbor, Lebanon, in a Conference and District match up.  From the opening whistle the Tigers were able to assert control over the Yellow Jackets. The game plan was to maintain possession and send the attack to the flanks.  The team was able to send the ball wide, keeping Jerry Soria and Cameron Wilbur busy out wide as they looked to set up or finish a cross.  The effort paid dividends by the eighth minute as Garrett Long received a ball to the left of goal, and was able to make a smart play by chipping high over a hard charging keeper.  The ball found Daniel Sesay as he crashed the net and ensured the first goal of the evening.  As the half continued the Tigers settled into a steady rhythm of winning the ball back quickly on defense, and sending the ball wide for a cross.  The goals continued to flow in as a result.  The second goal of the evening came from left midfielder Wilbur as he continued a back post run and tapped the ball in on a cross from Sesay. Sesay then scored the first of what would become a hat trick (3 goals) by the end of the night, by finishing a dropped ball by the keeper. Wilbur added a fourth at the 15 minute mark this time from Brandon Burkett as his shot spilled out of the keepers hands onto Wilbur's feet.  By the 20 minute mark the Tigers began to relax their play and lost focus as the Yellow Jackets began to threaten for the next 20 minutes of 1st half.  Lebanon, gifted with speed up top, began to find opportunities attacking through the right flank.  They drew several fouls, that set up dangerous set piece opportunities.  With good strength and size the Jackets were able to test Issac Swanson in goal multiple times, after a rather quiet start.  With 10 minutes in the 1st half Lebanon had a piece of bad luck as a goal was ruled offside by the Assistant Referee.  Fortunes would reverse with 2 minutes left in the half.  Lebanon's #19 struck a ball perfectly from 25 yards out beating an extended Swanson to the upper left of frame when he was given to much time in the center of the field. Half time was all about not making second half another tale of two quarters, one good and one not so good.  The team was challenged to come out the second half and ensure Lebanon wasn't allowed back into the game.  Especially as the team struggles to score after the break.  The boys responded quickly as Jerry Soria received the ball on the right flank fighting around their left back entering the 18 yard box and finished with a solid strike.  Five minutes in they had gained a goal back and control of the game.  The Tigers created quality chances as they regained their outside attack and began to find holes through the middle of the Lebanon defense.  The Jackets back line did a nice job pulling the trap, causing the forwards to be offsides multiples times early in the half.  As Long and Sesay adjusted to the defense the gaps opened up and caught the defense flat footed as they looked for the offside call.  After getting the early goal the Jacket defense stiffened and began putting more pressure on our shots.  Opportunities to score were still there, but faced more challenge getting cleanly to the net.  With the game in hand, concern about keeping players safe and rested allows time for others to see minutes in the game.  Making his Varsity debut, Austin Slatcher was able to get in and contribute in the midfield, along with Dayton Grifin and David Havlin.  Angel Longoria continued his strong run of play and sparked a flurry of goals in the final 10 minutes. Like a broken record, attacking from the outside, Soria fought to get the ball to the end line just outside the 18 yard box.  After beating the defender he connected a perfect pass to Longoria, who finished his run to the near post touching the ball past a frozen keeper.  Long and Sesay rounded out the night of scoring each with a goal and each assisting the other.  The game ended the way it started, with quality play and good all around team effort.  Long and Sesay have built up a strong chemistry as they each look to exploit the defense.  The Tiger defense handled the speedy Jackets well, as they continue to improve their organization during the run of play. The Tigers improved to 5-2 on the season and face a State ranked Nixa Eagles Thursday night at Nixa. The JV Tiger squad continues to play well, and beat the Jackets 2-1. The team controls the ball and look to find feet no matter the pressure applied by the other team.  The team is scoring more as they improve their finishing in front of goal.  Coach Maddy thought the team played really well.

On an emotional Tuesday night, former Waynesville Coach Mike Gow returned to Anderson Field with his Camdenton Lakers on a fitting evening as the Tigers celebrated senior night.  Coach Gow, who was part of the Waynesville boys program from 2008 to 2015, coached several of the seniors  recognized this evening.  Joey Cartwright, Cameron Wibur, Alex Rodriguez, and Gunnar Coonrod expressed many found memories of Coach Gow and all the free spelling lessons they received doing pushups during practices!  While he may now wear purple, he will always remain part of the family. From the opening whistle the Waynesville Tigers took the game to the Lakers.  They set a fast pace of play and had their best game of ball control of the season.  Sticking to the game plan the boys, took care of the ball by control of midfield and attacking through the flanks.  Very quickly the Tigers created scoring opportunities from crosses and corner kicks into the 18 yard box.  As Camdenton tried to adjust to shutting down the outside attack, the middle of the pitch became porous allowing the first goal of the evening at the ten minute mark. senior co-captain Daniel Sesay connected with senior co-captain Bryan Moose through the middle of the defense, where he side stepped a defender and beat the keeper with a confident strike just inside the 18 yard box.  The goal sent a charge through the large crowd on hand, encouraging the Tigers to keep the game tilted in their favor. The night seemed to be truly all about the seniors as they struck again five minutes later with a goal from Sesay, assisted by Angel Longoria, putting the tigers up by two.  The pace of the game never waivered as the Tigers kept the ball in the attacking half of the field, and continued to create quality scoring opportunities.  Longoria, playing his best game of the season, contributed to the score line when he headed in a goal on a perfect corner kick from Moose twenty minutes into the first half.  Not to be left out Senior Joey Cartwright, after receiving a pass from Longoria, launched a shot from long range that just beat an outstretched keeper putting the Tigers up 4-0. Cartwright and Longoria lead the team through the middle of the field. They dropped behind the ball on defense to help regain control of the ball and quickly pushed the attack forward.  Senior Brandon Burkett and Alex Rodriguez continued to demonstrate the powers of a dynamic duo, keeping their defensive line well organized and quickly dealing with Camdenton's dangerous counters.  With just under 6 minutes remaining sophomore Garrett Long took the focus off the seniors for a brief moment.  Long calmly received a pass by Daniel Sesay through the middle of the defense, took a touch left and shot the ball into the neat past a charging keeper.  The Tigers went into half time with a commanding 5-0 lead and the excitement of the fans who were thoroughly enjoying the match. Coming out of half-time the focus was on maintaining control and avoiding injury knowing the Lakers were frustrated with their 1st half performance.  The Tigers continued their strong play in the early minutes of the second half.  Utilizing the flanks more often in the second half putting senior Cameron Wilbur into regular action on the left flank. He was able to creating quality deliveries and shots throughout the remainder of the half.  Forwards Sesay and Long, continued their excellent play up top, finding each other on through balls and taking quality shots.  As the Lakers frustration built into the second half the game became more physical.  Both sides began responding with hard tackles as the referee worked to maintain order by issuing 5 yellow cards (2 to the Lakers, 3 to the Tigers) and 1 red to the Tigers after a collision with the Laker goalie.  Most of the bookings occurred in the final 10 minutes as both teams refused to back off and assert control over the game.  The match ended with a 5-0 Tiger victory and the 4th win of the young season.     The team wants to recognize the Waynesville Cheer Leaders for coming out to support the team, and our military partners in education from the 58th Transportation battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Western and Command Sergeant Major Johnson. The Tigers were also honored to have the color guard from the 84th Chemical Battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Galbraith and Command Sergeant Major Franco. The troops in the stands made for an amazing atmosphere at tonight's game.  The awesome fan support contributed to the spirit of the competition and inspired the players on the pitch. The seniors want to thank the fans for making the night special, and let their parents know how much they love them for all they do. 

The Waynesville Tigers hosted the Willard Tigers on another beautiful fall evening.  After a physical and mental battle on Tuesday, the team was looking forward to getting back on the pitch.  Unfortunately the boys were again slow to get focused at the start of the game, and Willard took advantage early with speed and clinical finishing when they scored just over two minutes into the game.  They were able to expose our defensive flanks and consistently delivered dangerous crosses into the 18 yard box. Willard followed up with a second goal at the 8 minute mark and never looked back as the team struggled to find a rhythm to the game. By the twenty minute mark Willard was in cruise control hitting the back of the net for the third time.  Waynesville couldn't find the spark to overcome the deficit and regain any traction before half time.   After halftime the boys improved their overall play and began to create better scoring opportunities.  The midfield led by Joey Cartwright and Angel Longoria began to find gaps in Willard's defense creating opportunities on the offensive end.  Garrett Long continued his quality play at the start of the season working hard as striker getting into the 18 yard box.  After receiving a pass from the right flank while in the box he was able to draw a penalty kick as the defense became desperate.  Long calmly stepped up to the penalty spot and beat a frozen keeper with a perfect strike to the left of center.  The run of play continued to improve, with David Havlin, Cameron Wilbur, and Brain Moose having chances on goal for the Tigers until the final whistle.  Willard's speed and quality finishing proved to be the difference as they added two more goals in the second half and securing a 5-1 victory.  The team continued to see solid performances on defense from Brandon Burkett and Isaac Swanson.  Swanson in particular faced a tough night in goal stopping many high quality shots, and kept the score line from being far worse.  On offense David Havlin and Dayton Griffon provided quality minutes in the midfield. While it was a somber night on the pitch, the team enjoyed the enthusiastic crowd support from their peers who kept the energy high until the end.  They were truly the twelfth man helping the Tigers dig a little deeper to see the game out and work through the early season adversity.  It was also a special treat to see Nelson Morgan at the game, as he came into town to take in a few days of Tiger athletics, both Waynesville and Mizzou!   Morgan was a long time Waynesville teacher, coach, and voice of the Tigers as the announcer for many sports.  Last year he, and wife Betty, moved to Tennessee to be closer to their son and grandchildren.  They both have been sorely missed as fans and supporters of the community and the students of Waynesville.  It was great seeing you Coach Morgan! The JV Team lost 1-0 to Willard's JV despite maintaining possession throughout both halves of play.  Unfortunately they gave up an unlucky goal in the first half and struggled to create quality shots despite controlling the game.  The boys are creating great opportunities and will begin finishing those opportunities as they grow in experience. The Tigers next game will be on the road to an improved West Plains squad Tuesday night.

Tuesday night the Waynesville Tigers hosted their final Ozark Conference game against Joplin.  The Joplin Eagles are set to leave the OC to join the Central Ozarks Conference next year.  The Eagles got off to a fast start when they opened the scoring 6 minutes into the first half on a set piece into the box.  Defensively there was some confusion marking up, which resulted in several Joplin players being left running unmarked as the ball was sent in and finished with an unchallenged header. The defense sorted themselves out quickly after that and began to deal with Joplin's speed of attack.  They stayed organized on the back line catching Joplin consistently off sides, and with Isaac Swanson coming off his line quickly to deal with the through balls.  The first half tilted back and forth as each team sought to control the ball out of mid-field and quickly attack the opposing defenses.  Joplin saw the greater amount of control off of 50/50 balls in the air, and were able to capitalize with 30 seconds left in the half by finishing a perfectly played through ball that split the center backs.  Going into half down 2-0 is never in the game plan, but presents an opportunity to find out how the team would respond to the adversity.  After the half time adjustments the Tigers picked up their pace of play and took control of the midfield.  The team consistently pushed the attack into Joplin's half of the field with strong play from David Havelin, Joey Cartwright, and Jeremiah Soria creating positive play in the offensive half.  Defensively the team dealt with the counter attacks skillfully. Brandon Burkett, Ryan Wilburn, Gunnar Coonrod, and Alex Rodriguez settled in to a cohesive line that limited Joplin to chances from distance which Swanson handled with out trouble.  The Tigers finally broke through with a little over 2 minutes remaining on a ball headed on from David Havlin to Garrett Long who headed it over Joplin's charging keeper from 20 yards out.  Garrett followed his shot into the net to ensure the ball made it across the line.  With time coming to a close the Tigers created one final opportunity to tie the game as they connected passes down the left flank.  The ball found Cameron Wilbur inside the 18 yard box all alone to the left of goal.  He was able to take a touch and hit a solid strike on frame, but the Joplin keeper had the angle as he was quick to close down the space to make the save and ensure the Eagle victory.  The Tigers showed quality character the second half as the game became more physical and as they never stopped working or believing that they could win the game.  They look forward to getting back on the pitch against Willard at home Thursday night. The JV team played their first full game of the year Tuesday night.  Joplin held a 2-0 lead late into the second half as the boys battled the warm weather and the physical play.  Kevin Cruz scored closing the gap with twelve minutes to play. Unfortunately the team faced a streak of injuries in the closing minutes that slowed the attacked and allowed Joplin to hold on to a 2-1 victory. 

On a perfect Friday night the Waynesville boys soccer team continued improving their overall team play.  The first 20 minutes were a bit shaky as the team adjusted to a faster and more organized offense from Central.  Central had several quality opportunities that fortunately went wide of net as the Tigers found their footing.  The defensive line improved as Brandon Burkett and Bryan Moose took control of directing their back line and finding chemistry as central defenders.  The scoring opened with a lofted shot from Joey Cartwright from 25 yards out that caught the Central keeper off his line.  Second half continued with strong play on defense and a more organized attack on offense.  The team saw production from every player and depth off the bench.  Offensively, Angel Longoria, Daniel Sesay, and Garrett Long took full control and provided many quality chances. Garrett Long added to the tally sheet with a strike from range.  It was a quality win for the boys against a District opponent.  The JV team played their first half of the year and controlled the game to earn a 2-0 victory of Central.  Next week the home run of games will continue against Joplin on Tuesday night and Willard Thursday.

The Waynesville Tigers shutout the visiting Hillcrest hornets 10-0. Joey Cartwright and Daniel Sesay teamed up for a hat trick each. Other goals were from Garrett Long, Angel Longoria, Bryan Moose, and Alex Rodriguez. Isaac Swanson got the shout out in goal. The Tigers will host Springfield Central on Friday night.  The JV team didn't play due to Hillcrest not being able to field a team.