The Lady Tigers soccer team dominated possession for most of the night, shut out Branson 2-0, and oh, by the way, raised an estimated $6,000 as part of their annual Autism Speaks fundraising game.
The yearly event, which includes a silent auction, corporate sponsorships, special T-shirts, is part of coach Mike Hines’ effort to make the girls soccer program a part of the wider community beyond Republic High School. He says the success its success is indicative of the program’s growth.
“I think this is becoming a regular thing and people look forward to it every year. They start asking about when T-shirts are going on sale in April,” Hines says. “When you have people look for things annually, to me, I think that’s a very positive thing.”
“We put probably the most person hours into this event. Lesleigh Fenton probably put in 20-30 hours, so she really stepped up. It’s nice to have Lori Casagrand come back after Sierra graduated last year and be so helpful.”
On the field, the Lady Tigers got their first goal with about three minutes left in the first half when Lesleigh Fenton booted a free kick in from about 22 yards out, just off the fingertips of the keeper in the upper-left corner of the goal.
In the second half, Morgan Jones put the game away when she slid the ball past the keeper on the left side of the net to make it 2-0.
The Lady Tigers are back home Thursday for a game against Carl Junction.