Republic soccer coach Kevin Hauck is always looking for the best combination of players to get it done against any given opponent. Tuesday night, his adjustments paid off in a comeback, 3-1 win over Joplin. Marco Donjuan scored all three Republic goals.
“Defensively, I think we’ve been playing really great over the last couple of weeks, between our midfield and our defensive formation,” said Hauck. “We’re just looking for different ways to score. Tonight, in the first half, we were really struggling to find someone up top. So in the second half, I started Ethan (Meyer) up top, and he created a lot of opportunities up there, playing a couple of nice balls to Marco, and Marco was able to finish them.”
Joplin scored the first goal of the night, early in the first half. But from there, Republic scored three straight. Donjuan tied the score before halftime, then added two more after the break, assisted by Meyer.
Hauck gives much credit for Republic’s improved play over the last few weeks to a solid midfield helping the Tigers control play.
“A game can be won or lost in the midfield, so we put a lot of emphasis on that. We’re putting a lot of trust in two sophomores to run that at times, and we’ll move Ethan in and out of the midfield, as well,” Hauck said. “We’ve got a lot of young players playing key roles, so for them to play that well and for us to get quality wins like that says a lot about our team.”
