Eagles Come Up Short Against Southern Boone, St. Francis Borgia

Sullivan absorbed shutout losses against Southern Boone and St. Francis Borgia last week. 

The Eagles opened the week Monday against Southern Boone with a 1-0 defeat. They traveled to Borgia Thursday and fell 5-0, though they removed their starters for the weekend’s Laker Shootout in Camdenton.

Southern Boone

Southern Boone scored in the opening minutes Monday and the two teams played to a draw from there.

Eagles head coach Bill Kackley was impressed by what Southern Boone brought.

“They are a really good team,” Kackley said, noting they are state ranked. “It was a very good game.”

Sullivan surrendered the only goal when keeper Jacob Wiley came out for the ball, slid to the edge of the box and was called for a handball penalty. That led to a free kick and a goal.

“We were not aggressive at the moment,” Kackley said.

Wiley finished with four saves. The Eagles put six shots on goal, but could not find the net. “We had opportunities to tie it,” Kackley said.

Sullivan “caused some havoc” with their possession and got Southern Boone offsides numerous times, Kackley said.

“We played a good game against a good team. They have been to the Elite Eight and the Final Four. They have a lot of knowledge about winning and I expect them to win their district,” he said.

Borgia

Sullivan returned to the field for their third game of the week Thursday against the Knights, who pulled out a 5-0 victory.

“They are a good team, not a great team, and we came out flat,” Kackley said. “They were aggressive and attacked us.”

Kackley liked the way Sullivan played through parts of the first half, showing good passing and movement. But all momentum seemed to be lost when Borgia brought the ball down the side, found an attacker down the middle and scored. 

“We did not mark up,” Kackley said. “Everything changed after that. There was not a great flow to it.”

Sullivan sent in their junior varsity for most of the second half to save their legs for the weekend tournament.

Jacob Buhr scored twice for the Knights, while Drew Holden, Brendan Pagan and Trent Strubberg had one. 

Up Next

The Eagles hosted Pacific Tuesday in a critical game for the Four Rivers Conference standings. 

Sullivan is 2-0 in the conference and a victory could “put us in the driver’s seat” for the championship, Kackley said.