By Tyler F. Thompson (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
SPRINGFIELD — Patience is a virtue.
And not many have waited to the likes of the Carl Junction Bulldogs(13-7) boys soccer program, who won their first district title in nine years after defeating Webb City 1-0 in overtime Monday evening in the Class 3 District 6 championship game at Parkview High School on Jaiden Walker’s goal from 15 yards out.
The previous district title win was in 2016, a 2-1 victory over Springfield Catholic.
“I am really proud of them. They worked their tails off,” Bulldogs head coach Nate Loewen said. “These guys have wanted this for a long time.”
Losing in the district championship last year left a bad taste, and the Bulldogs were determined to right the ship, even with the temperature dropping to the high 20s.
Not exactly soccer weather, but the ‘Dogs brushed it off.
“We wanted the opportunity to play. Webb is a really good team. We played really good soccer when it counted,” Loewen said.
Fuel was added to fire after last season’s premature district exit.
Said Loewen: “We wanted to play good teams. We wanted the biggest games to be in the regular season, so we were prepared emotionally. We scheduled Catholic. We scheduled Van Horn. Last year kind of got away from us. We were a young team.”
Entering the 15-minute overtime, the ‘Dogs, who owned time of possession early in the second half and the majority of the first half, willed themselves to wrap it up before the shootout.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
With 8:55 remaining in overtime, Walker knew it was his time.
This marked Walker’s first goal of the season. A memory he will take with him throughout life.
As the Bulldogs pressed on, and the Cardinals were retreating, Walker took the give down the far seam, finding the net and sending the cheering section, as well as his teammates, into a frenzy.
“I watched [senior] Zack [Teeter] go down in the box. My first instinct was just shoot it. I didn’t look for anyone open,” Walker said. “We worked together and played our game.”
The Bulldogs opened the season with a 4-0 shutout of Webb City.
“I have been on them, and a lot of what we need to do to be a better team, because we have [senior] Nolan Couk, who can score a lot of goals. The temptation is there to kick it up there and see what he can do. For us to be successful this year, we had to be more well-rounded. If you look at our results, we struggled to score in some matches. That is why I really pressured them. We need to play as a team, and they did tonight.”
The Bulldogs produced five shots on goal down the stretch of the second half.
“I thought our best soccer came within the last 15 minutes,” Loewen said. “That is what counted. And Jaiden, whew, way to be right place, right time. And he knew exactly what to do.”
Carl Junction, after defeating Hillcrest 2-1 and Parkview 1-0 in the opening two rounds, and now Webb City, prepare for Saturday’s quarterfinals tilt against Summit Christian Academy (24-3) on Saturday.
