Monett’s Misael Cordero took advantage of a Republic defensive lapse with about ten minutes left in the game to break a 2-2 tie and give the Cubs a 3-2 win in the season opener for both teams. Cordero’s game-winner was his second goal of the night for Monett in the debut of their new head coach, Chris Villa.
The Tigers had dominated play early in the first half, and grabbed a 1-0 lead when Mitchell Heinzler headed a corner kick from Tanner Peabody into the left side of the net with 29:34 left in the half. But Republic failed to take advantage of numerous other chances, and Monett eventually struck back just before halftime.
With 6:00 left in the half, Eddie Aceves evened the score at 1-1. With 1:19 left to go, Cordero slipped the ball past goalie Stone Davidson on a breakaway to give the Cubs the lead.
In the 2nd half, Heinzler scored his second goal of the game with 27:00 left to even the score 2-2. The Tigers missed multiple opportunities to take the lead in the minutes that followed, leaving the door open for Cordero’s game-winner.
Coach Mike Hines says mental and physical lapses cost his team in a game they could have won.
“We outshot them, we out-possessed them, but when you make a couple of mistakes like that, it sure does make you pay,” Hines says.
“I haven’t looked at the stats yet, but we probably had 25-30 passes that went directly to the other team. When you do things like that, it just allows them to have more opportunities that they normally wouldn’t have.”
Despite the disappointment of losing the season opener, Hines says he remains optimistic about the prospects for the season.
“We’re going to start get some bounces,” he says. “We’ve got some young guys that are doing some very good things.”
The Tigers are back in action Thursday in their home opener against New Covenant Academy.
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In the JV game, Sam Heinzler and Manny Elivo each scored a goal to help Republic beat Monett 2-0.