Sullivan Soccer Struggles In Rebuilding Season
The Sullivan Eagles soccer team had a rebuilding season. This was the first season under the Eagles new head coach Brian Immekus. Immekus began as a teacher in 2015 and joined the coaching staff the same year. He was the assistant coach under Bill Kackley until this season. Sullivan had a young team with only three seniors. The boys finished the season, 3-19.
The season started on a positive note with a fourth place finish at the annual Lebanon tournament. They came up short in the season opener against West Plains, 2-0. The Eagles rebounded in the next game with a victory over Greenwood, 3-0. They shot the ball eight times during the game. Trevor Alexander, Josiah Tanner and Dock Thomure scored the three goals. Lebanon finished off Sullivan with a shut out, 3-0.
The Eagles fell in their next two games. Washington came to Sullivan and defeated the Eagles, 7-1. Zechariah Beagle got the only goal for Sullivan. They were defeated in Wildwood the next game by St. Louis United, 4-1. Beagle scored the only goal in that defeat.
Kaden Smith played his best game as a young goalkeeper against North County. He played all 80 minutes and saved the ball four times. The freshman, Tanner, netted the first goal with an assist by Alexander. Beagle notched the next goal with an assist by sophomore Mason Mertz. Sullivan won, 2-0.
The Eagles fell in their next two games. They traveled to Westphalia to play the Fatima Comets and fell, 5-0. Smith saved the ball eleven times and Beagle and Alexander only shot the ball twice. The next game, Sullivan’s defense shined. Union came to Sullivan and was aggressive. The defense stopped the Wildcats from scoring in the first half. Union scored the first goal and the Eagles answered back. Beagle ran the ball down the field on a fast break and scored the lone goal. Smith saved the ball eleven times, but Sullivan came up short by one, 2-1.
Sullivan struggled the next two games with two shutouts. Warrenton came to Sullivan and won 4-0. The boys traveled to Laquey for the next game and were shut out, 7-0. The Eagles rebounded with a win over St. Paul Lutheran to end the week. The Eagles home crowd was ecstatic with the lead to finish the first half of the game. Cambrian Koch scored his first goal with a shot over their goal keeper’s head. Eli Peregoy sailed a ball in with 18 minutes left in the second half and Thomure finished off the Giants in the 3-1 victory.
The Eagles couldn’t come up with another victory the rest of the season. Sullivan came up short against Pacific at home, 2-0. Sullivan improved later in the week with a more aggressive offense. They had a big game at home against Dixon. The Eagles shot the ball twenty times against Dixon and barely fell, 5-4. Dixon scored the first goal and freshman Carsen Dudley tied it up right away. Freshman Aidan Lawrence scored a goal and Beagle scored the next two goals for Sullivan. The game went into overtime and Sullivan lost a heartbreaker.