Eagles Look To Rebound After Lebanon Tourney

Sullivan’s boys soccer team (1-3) made their eighth consecutive trip to the Lebanon Kickoff Tournament held from Sept. 6-7.

The Eagles fell in their first two matches on Friday. Lebanon slid by Sullivan with a goal, and West Plains shut them out by five scores.

The Eagles rebounded the following morning with a 1-0 victory over Marshfield. 

Reed Newbanks was named Sullivan’s Man of the Match after delivering the game-winning score against the Blue Jays. Josiah Tanner contributed the assist.

After week one, head coach Brian Immekus praised goalies Alex Toews and Matthew Hamblin for their “fantastic” performances at the net. He said, “[They] have been stellar in goal thus far. Unfortunately, they’ve been hung out to dry too often, putting them in impossible situations and goals being scored on them.”

Immekus plans to work with his team on tweaking certain areas after the tournament. “The defensive third and attacking third of the field are where we have to improve quickly,” he stated. “Too many defensive breakdowns [are] leading to easy goals for our opponents, and we are really struggling making key passes to lead us to legitimate scoring opportunities.”

Despite facing early trials, the Eagles aim to rebound and battle to glory in week two. Immekus is excited to see Sullivan’s strengths roll into full force in the coming games. He explained, “I’ve been really pleased with our play in the middle of the field and our goalkeeping. We’ve done well in possession, moving the ball, and attempting to build an attack. Our breakdowns have come once we actually get into the attacking third and then failing to create scoring chances.”