If there was any doubt about the soccer Tigers’ turnaround, it was put to rest Thursday by a huge home win over Monett. The Cubs are state contenders and ranked among the top teams in southwest Missouri, but Republic’s defense shut them down for most of the night and got two goals to pull off a 2-1 upset win. Monett had won six straight.
The Tigers grabbed the lead about ten minutes into the second half on a goal by Will Fronabarger. Philip Mason found Marco Donjuan on an entry pass at the top of the goal box and Donjuan crossed the ball from right to left to Fronabarger, who poked it past the Monett keeper to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Will Fronabarger’s goal at 30:43
Republic grabbed an even bigger edge when a head-butt led to a red card against Monett, leaving the Cubs with a one-man disadvantage. Despite that, the Cubs managed to score the equalizer around the 62nd minute when Johnny Perez booted the ball across the goal left to right and beyond the reach of keeper Drake Lightfoot.
But Philip Mason responded with the game-winner in the final two minutes. After seeing Monett’s defenders jump into the air on his previous free kicks, he kept his attempt along the ground, tucking it just inside the left post to give Republic a 2-1 lead, and that’s all they needed to hold on.
“Phil has been doing a good job on taking direct kicks for us this season, so I had a lot of hope in him and a lot of faith in him that he’d step up and make something big for us,” coach Kevin Hauck said of Mason’s game-winner.
Philip Mason’s goal at 1:23
From an 0-5 start, Republic has fought back to move above .500 for the first time this season. They’ve won six of their last seven, and the only loss during that stretch was in overtime against 12-1 Carthage. Republic is 7-6, and Monett is now 9-3.
“That one felt really good. I’m really proud of the guys,” said Hauck. “That’s a good team win right there.”