By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Before they went to prom, the Carthage Lady Tigers had a soccer tournament to win.
Carthage, amid a heavy crosswind, got a goal from senior Brianna Marquez in the 64th minute and held on to beat Bolivar 1-0 in the championship game of the Willard Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
Carthage has experienced a turnaround season under first-year coach Taylor Beck. A year after finishing 7-12 overall, the Lady Tigers now boast an 11-3 overall record.
“I told them the culture that I wanted us to have, and they’ve done exactly what I’ve asked,” said Beck, who graduated from Carl Junction in 2014 and went on to play four years at Missouri Southern State University. “They work hard at practice every day. I knew this would be a winning season, but this has been a really good winning season so far.”
With the match ending around 2:30 p.m., the players still had time to make the hour-long trip back home and prepare for spring prom festivities.
Earlier in the day, Carthage beat Willard 3-1 in the semifinals. The match began at 8 a.m.
“They were talking about (prom) at lunch,” Beck said. “I told them, ‘On the field, you have to have your head (in the game). They were definitely here to win.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
With the match played on a grass field and windy conditions, offense was hard to come by for both sides.
Carthage finally broke through late in the second half when it played a ball to the middle for Marquez.
Marquez, who was named First-Team All-Central Ozark Conference last season, converted with a swift, left-footed kick.
“I knew it was going in (when she took it),” said Liberators coach Steve Fast. “She fired it with her left foot. I don’t know if she’s left-footed or right-footed, but it was a great shot. She nailed it.”
Said Beck: ““She’s our target player. We have other girls who can score, but we want to play (Marquez) as much as we can. We passed it to the middle, she beat one person and took a great shot.”
The outcome marks the first time Carthage has won the Willard Tournament.
“They weren’t distracted,” Beck said of her players. “They definitely had their eyes on the game. They earned it. They played well.”
Bolivar defeated Neosho, 3-1, in the morning semifinal round.
But the Lady Liberators (12-4 overall) were playing undermanned all day.
“We had two starters hurt (Friday) night, which affects rotation,” Fast said. “Injuries start popping up, lack of depth, that sort of thing. It all accumulates.
“But I’m proud of the girls. Everybody came in, whenever they were sent in for whatever position, and played hard. We had our chances, just couldn’t get them to fall.”
Before Saturday’s result, Carthage had scored at least two goals in all but three matches.
“The wind had a huge factor today, but we played (the ball) on the ground,” Beck said. “We had to play the ball on the ground all the way through, from the back to the front.”
