Nixa, Mo. (For OzarksSportsZone.com) -- Coming off of a tough loss just 24 hours earlier, the Nixa Eagles were able to overcome a slow start to beat Bolivar 5-0 Tuesday night.
Nixa head coach Evan Palmer said there were things his team didn’t do during the Monday night 1-0 loss to
Glendale that they needed to improve on Tuesday night against Bolivar.
“We want to stay with our possession,” Palmer said. “We kind of got away from that last (Monday) night. … We didn’t get the ball where it needs to go; we didn’t have people in the right spot in our offensive third.”
The Eagles responded, controlling the ball and maintaining possession for a clear majority of Tuesday night’s game. But Bolivar’s game plan was to pack the middle and force Nixa to make the extra passes to the beat them. After a sluggish 33 minutes into the first half, Eagles senior Zach Chism was able to beat defenders and take a put in a pass from fellow senior Sebastian Marcos to go up 1-0.
Then three minutes later, Bolivar got called for a hand ball in the box, which gave Nixa’s Scott Sterling a penalty kick that floated past the Liberator’s goalie for 2-0 lead.
That seemed to be the momentum the Eagles needed to carry them into the second half.
Nixa came out putting pressure on the Bolivar defense and was able to score again, as Marcos took a pass from Sterling for a 3-0 lead just four minutes into the second half.
Nixa’s Austin Engleman dribbled nearly 20 yards through defenders to score on a 15-yard shot to go up 4-0 with 20 minutes remaining in the half. Five minutes later, senior Robert Neathery booted a 30-yard shot beyond the reach of Phillips for the final goal of the night.
In the end, Bolivar’s defensive game wasn’t able to compete with the experience and quickness of the Eagles.
“We just wanted to contain them. We knew that our opportunities would be limited,” Fast said. “… I felt like we were really frustrating them (by cramming the middle) until they got that goal, and then things kind of opened up for them.
“We felt like we were really competing well,” he said. “Our focus is just to get better with each play, each game. We know the big pictures is districts down the road.”
Bolivar (13-7) will host Republic Thursday before ending the regular season with a visit from Osage Oct. 23.
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Box Score
Nixa 5, Bolivar 0
Bolivar 0-0 – 0
First half
Nixa – Zach Chism (assist by Sebastian Marcos)
Nixa – Scott Sterling (unassisted)Second half
Nixa – Sebastian Marcos (assist by Scott Sterling)
Nixa – Austin Engleman (unassisted)
Nixa – Roberty Neathery (unassisted)
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