Ozark Rolls Past Glendale In Home Opener

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By Dana Harding

Ozark, MO — Lightning forced an early stop to Tuesday’s clash between Ozark and Glendale, but the second-half light show proved to be a bit anticlimactic.

The evening’s premier storm belonged to the Lady Tiger offense.

Ozark utilized a fast-paced, swarming attack in the first half to net four goals en route to a 5-0 victory.

Jadyn Easley struck first for the Lady Tigers at the 8:12 mark.

The all-state sophomore gathered a Michayla Putt crosser and punched the ball into the back corner of the goal for the game’s opening score.

Minutes later, Putt broke loose again on the outside. The Southwest Baptist commit rifled another crosser to Ashley McCulloch for a 2-0 Ozark lead.

While Ozark coach Tom Davidson had hoped to work the ball down both sides of the pitch, Putt’s ability to work in space and win one-on-one matchups gave the Lady Tigers a quick advantage down the first-half stretch.

“We were able to get some space down the right side,” Davidson said. “I was telling the girls we really needed to try to switch the ball to the left, because we had open players, but we never were really able to really get it over there.”

CLICK HERE FOR OZARK VS. GLENDALE PHOTOS

Minutes later, Ozark struck again when Easley gathered a breakaway near midfield and won a footrace down the right side to the goal box. Some quick footwork put Glendale keeper Elyssa Hitt back on her heels and allowed Easley to punch a ball into the back left corner.

When asked about the fake; however, Easley couldn’t recall what happened.

“I had to get past that first defender,” Easley said. “Once I got past her, I just kept trucking and running and got there. I’ve been playing forever, so stuff like that just comes naturally to me.”

Davidson was pleased with his team’s quick transitions and ability to contain the ball in front of the goal. With repeated second- and third-chance opportunities, eventually Ozark’s attack was going to break through.

“We were able to kind of hold them in a little bit, which I was happy with,” Davidson said. “Any time you hold it in, you’re just going to create more chances for yourself. So many times, when that second goal happens in girls’ soccer, the third one comes pretty quick after that, and then the fourth one. It’s just part of it.”

For Ozark and Davidson, the fourth one occurred minutes later when Baily Summers looped a 35-yard free kick over the wall of defenders and into the back of the net for a 4-0 halftime lead.

The Lady Tigers still weren’t finished with the home-opening fireworks show.

In the 51st minute, Hayley Cobb placed a 25-yard looping free kick right in front of the net.

Saving the best for last, senior all-stater Maya Davidson rose up above the back defenders and knocked in the header for Ozark’s fifth goal of the evening.

Midway through the second half, a distant lightning flash sent both teams to the locker rooms for standard safety measures and a mandatory, 30-minute delay.

With continued lightning strikes in the area, both coaches decided to call the game in the 61st minute of play.

While Ozark’s big lead paved the way for a 4-0 start, it might have come at a price.

Seconds before the initial lighting report, a collision sent Putt to the turf with an ankle injury.

Davidson reported initial reports to be optimistic, but also acknowledged it was far too soon for any sort of prognosis.

“We have a very deep bench,” Coach Davidson said. “As much as we rely on Mikayla, we’ll be able to absorb that. Any time you miss a player like that, you don’t get that back, but somebody else will step right in, and we’ll be fine.”

For Glendale and head coach Jeff Rogers, the early-season test and difficult schedule should pay dividends down the road for the young, improving squad.

“We’re only going to get better every game,” Rogers said. “Our schedule, when we don’t have the skill level that we’re used to … I’m still going to play the best teams we can find. We had a lot of kids that we threw in the deep end of the pool, as we like to say, but that’s how we’re going to learn and this is a great team to test us. So, now we go back and see the kinds of things we need to be working on in practice.”

Ozark – 5, Glendale – 0

First-half scoring
Ozark 7:48 Jadyn Easley goal (Mikayla Putt assist) 1-0
Ozark 27:17 Ashley McCulloch goal (Mikayla Putt assist) 2-0
Ozark 29:29 Jadyn Easley goal (unassisted) 3-0
Ozark 32:54 Baily Summers goal (unassisted) 4-0

Second-half scoring
Ozark 50:43 Maya Davidson (Hayley Cobb assist) 5-0

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