History will be made Aug. 27 when the McDonald County High School soccer team takes to the field for its first-ever match.
The match against Cassville is the opening game of Cassville Classic soccer tournament that includes Thomas Jefferson and New Covenant in addition to the host Wildcats and McDonald County.
No.## Name##Grade
1##Skylar Pettit##9
2 ##Dan Ser##10
3 ##Kyan Day ##11
4 ##Jose Valdez ##9
5 J##ose Santillian ##12
6 ##Wah Kpaw ##12
7 ##So Kamaw Doe ##9
8 ##Yonathan Rodriguez ##12
9 ##Chance Cawood ##10
10 ##Cesar Santillian ##12
11 ##Alfredo Sanchez ##9
12 ##Ta Hay Thaw ##12
13 ##Saul Delacruz ##12
14 ##Nay Soeoo ##10
15 ##Yei Min Way ##9
16 ##Milton Vazquez ##11
17 ##Jose Rodriguez ##10
18 ##Ricardo Rodriguez ##9
19 ##Ricardo Ramirez ##11
20 ##Elias Gallegos ##12
21 ##Lorenzo Munoz ##12
22 ##Edly Lihpai ##9
23 ##Henry Malin ##9
24 ##Antonio Rubio ##11
25 ##Martin Hernandez ##10
33 ##Uriel Lazaro ##10
44 ##Alex Garcia ##11
Brayton Reynolds ##10
Der Gay Moo ##10
Day^Date^Opponent^Level^Home/Away
8/27-29/15^Cassville Tournament^Varsity^Away^TBA
Thursday^09/03/15^Carl Junction^Var/J.V.^Away^5 p.m.
Tueday^09/08/15^Greenwood LaboratoryHigh^Var/J.V.^Home School^4:30 p.m.
Thursday^09/10/15^Monett High School^Var/J.V.^Home^5 p.m.
Monday^09/14/15^Pittsburg High School^Var/J.V.^Home^5 p.m.
Thursday^09/17/15^Carthage High School^Var/J.V.^Away^5 p.m.
Thursday^09/24/15^Neosho High School^Var/J.V.^Away ^5 p.m.
Tueday^09/29/15^Cassville High School^Var/J.V.^Away^5 p.m.
Thursday^10/01/15^Aurora High School^Var/J.V.^Home^5 p.m.
Tueday^10/06/15^College Heights^Var/J.V.^Home ^4 p.m.
Friday^10/09/15^Republic High School^Var/J.V.^Away^4:30 p.m.
Tueday^10/13/15^Joplin High School^Var/J.V.^Home ^5 p.m.
Monday^10/19/15^Thomas Jefferson^Var/J.V.^Away^5 p.m.
Thursday^10/22/15^Webb City High School^Var/J.V.^Home^5 p.m.
McDonald County is led by head coach James Carter and assistant coach Brandon Martin. Practices began Aug. 3 with 11 players. Since that first day the roster has grown to 30.
"We have great numbers," Carter said. "The numbers have obviously been good, but that is something that I expected. A lot of these kids have been playing their entire life, but just haven't had the opportunity to play at this level. We have some experience even though we are a first-year program."
Carter said the kids are very skilled and fast, though small. The challenge will be harnessing those individuals into a team.
"We are very individually skilled, so that is not a big issue for us," Carter said. "With that being said, our organization and style of play is what we are having to focus on. It has been night and day from the first day until now, but there is still a lot of room for improvement."
Carter said he wants the team to control the ball, but at the same time still find a way to move forward.
"It's a fun style to play and fun to watch," Carter said. "A lot of these kids have waited a long time for this opportunity and there definitely is a lot of excitement. They are happy to be out there."
Carter said he expects his club to be competitive from the very beginning. He said he knows the teams in the area due to his recruiting while coach at Bacone Community College.
"I have a good idea where everybody is at," Carter said. "As far as we stack up, I expect us to be competitive. What that means in terms of wins and losses I don't know. We will know more next Thursday."
Carter said practices have gone well.
"We have worked on ratcheting up the intensity which has been a focus," Carter said. "They have been productive, but with that being said, nothing will replace real game situations."
Carter said the kids are excited about making their high school debut.
"Obviously the kids are excited the first game," Carter said. "Not only is the first game of the season, but it is the first game of the program. The boys are ready to go. They are tired of kicking each other and ready to get out there against somebody else."
After the Cassville tournament, McDonald County is at Carl Junction on Sept. 3 before hosting Greenwood Laboratory High School in its "home" opener. McDonald County's home games will be played at Crowder College the first year while the Loyce Shellnut Soccer Field is under construction behind the administration building in Anderson.
Sports on 08/27/2015