The Conner Cougars (9-6-3 overall) and Cooper Jaguars (12-2-3) boys soccer teams battled to keep their seasons alive Sunday at Boone County.
Conner had not scored in its last six games being outscored 9-0. But down 1-0 at halftime, junior forward/midfielder Noah Walker tied the game with his second goal of the season.
“It was a great win for us, but hats off to Cooper,” said John Walker, Conner head coach. “(The Jaguars) played their hearts out. They had a great season. We never had a doubt we were going to be able to contend and stay in this game. Our goal was to keep pressure on and keep going.”
Senior Vance Dawson scored the lone goal for Cooper, his second goal this year.
Then the Cougars beat the Jaguars, 5-4 on kicks from the mark. Senior defender/midfielder Cosmin Marculeanu, seniors forward/midfielder Ethan Sands, Ethan Dyer, senior forward Jacob Butcher and senior defender Daniel Campbell made their shots for Conner.
The Jaguars graduate 18 seniors off the team. Both losses came on kicks from the mark including the 2-1 loss at Ryle on Sept. 20 that decided the top seed in the 33rd District Tournament.
Ryle (13-4-2) knocked off the host Boone County Rebels (5-13) in the first semifinal game. Junior goalkeeper Landon Barth had two saves for Ryle.
Freshman striker Brice Denigan scored twice with junior midfielder Diego Hoenderkamp scoring once and assisting two other goals. Senior defender Shupa Snowden had one goal and one assist. Senior midfielder Cole Marsh had one goal and one assist. Freshman Marcos Hoenderkamp had the other assist.
The championship game is Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. back at Boone County. Ryle and Conner played Sept. 22 at Ryle with the Raiders winning 1-0.
Girls Soccer
Conner 2, Boone County 0
The Cougars (13-7-2) advanced to the championship game Wednesday back at Boone County with the win over the host Rebels (7-10-3).
Freshman forward Ariel Brogan scored her eighth goal of the year with junior Laurel Frazier recording the assist. Senior Elaina Keller scored her sixth goal this year.
The championship game is Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Conner will take on either Cooper (12-4-1) or Ryle (4-11-2). That semifinal game takes place Monday at 5:30 p.m.