The Republic High School girls soccer team had an impressive performance Tuesday night, defeating Joplin 9-0 in a game that ended at halftime due to the mercy rule. The Lady Tigers set a new school record for the number of different players scoring (8). The win also marked Republic’s ninth of the season, surpassing last year’s total of eight.
(Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Republic set school records for goals in a match and margin of victory. The article had overlooked a match in 2015 against Aurora where Republic scored 10 goals. The article has been updated to reflect this correction.)
Molly Blades opened the scoring with two goals less than a minute apart, about 11 minutes into the game. Claire Redman and Cadence Lugar also found the back of the net in the first 20 minutes.
Callie Jaquess, Kendra Phiri, Ava Brown, Brooklyn Claxton, and Adison Gibbs rounded out the scoring for Republic. Claxton’s goal was the first she’s scored since her freshman season. In all, five seniors and three defenders scored during Republic’s dominant half. All three captains—Blades, Brown, and Claxton—got in the scoring column.
“Probably the most selfless ball I’ve seen this group play,” said Republic coach Jesus Zuniga. “We still tried to force the ball at times, but the cleanest half of soccer I’ve seen us play thus far. We looked to shoot, we looked to pass, we looked to drive, and the challenge yesterday at practice is, ‘Can we just act and not think?’ We acted tonight.”
Republic welcomed Kendra Phiri and Callie Jaquess back into the rotation after they were sidelined by injuries, and both got in on the scoring outburst. Zuniga also credited senior Cameron Burton for playing “exceptionally well.”
With the win, Republic improved to 9-4 on the season. The Lady Tigers have now scored 39 goals, one more than the 38 they scored all of last season. They’ve also won five straight, their longest win streak since winning six in a row in 2021.
“Can we be consistent and continue to defend our turf?” Zuniga said. “We get another opportunity Thursday.”
The Lady Tigers will host Carthage on Thursday.
