The mood was somber after the Republic soccer team ended its night with an overtime loss on penalty kicks to conference rival Carthage. But more than the loss, the players’ mood stemmed from the loss of teammate Marco Donjuan, who went down with any injury late in the second overtime.
The game was delayed for more than a half hour after Donjuan collided with the Carthage goalkeeper, requiring medical attention. When play resumed, neither team managed to score before time ran out. During the ensuing penalty kicks, Republic missed two attempts, while Carthage was perfect.
Jackson McGuire scored a first-half goal for the Tigers, and after two Carthage goals early in the second half, Donjuan tied it.
After the game, Coach Kevin Hauck said he was proud of his team’s effort against a Carthage squad that has lost only two games all season.
“We really battled with them. We had a good team effort tonight, and a lot of high energy,” he said. ” two losses have come against really good teams this year, so for us to battle and take it into PKs the way we did, it just encourages us.”
All five of Republic’s losses this season have been one-goal games.
“We’re right there,” said Hauck. “We’re being competitive, so hopefully we start turning the script and getting more wins.”
Without Donjuan in the lineup, Hauck says other players will have to step up, starting with a game Thursday again Springfield Central.
“You prepare for it all season long. If one player goes down, another one’s ready to go. These boys have been working hard, so I expect that someone’s going to step up and … going to hopefully be able to fill that role.
“We’re going to be missing him,” Hauck said of Donjuan. “Marco’s a big player for us. He does a great job, so now we count on someone else to step up, and I think they will do that.
Republic falls to 5-5 this season. Their game Thursday is at Cooper Soccer Complex in Northeast Springfield.