The Republic Lady Tigers secured a 2-0 victory over the Harrison Goblins in the Kickapoo Shootout at Kickapoo High School in Springfield on Saturday, extending their winning streak to four games.
Claire Redman opened the scoring for Republic with 30:04 left in the first half. Molly Blades doubled the lead with 8:45 remaining in the half, firing a shot from the far right wing that sailed over the outstretched arms of the Harrison goalkeeper and into the left side of the net.
With the win, Republic improves to 8-4 on the season, matching their total number of victories from last year. The Lady Tigers have also recorded their sixth shutout of the season and second in a row. Last season, Republic had seven shutouts in 21 matches.
Defender Brooklyn Claxton said the Lady Tigers defense takes pride in pursuing shutouts every game.
“Every single time we walk out on the field, we’re thinking, ‘Okay, we have to get a shutout.’ That’s our goal,” Claxton said. “I just think we all trust each other a lot, and we know we have each other’s backs.”
That trust allows the defenders to play cohesively as a unit, Claxton said.
“On the field, it allows us to know someone is backing us up, and we know that we’re going to be there for each other,” she said. “We know that if Ava [Brown ] wants to go up, she can trust us to hold her spot, and that we’ll cover her so that she can do what she needs to do for the time.”
Though most of the players are the same as in 2023, the Lady Tigers defense has elevated its play compared to last season, even surprising Claxton.
“Looking back at film, I realize how much we really have changed and how much better we have gotten,” she said. “Just seeing the film compared to now, I would say, yes, it’s surprised me.”
Republic’s offensive production has also improved this year. The Lady Tigers have scored 30 goals in their first 12 matches, compared to 38 goals in the entire previous season. Defensively, Republic has conceded just nine goals in 12 matches, an average of 0.75 goals per game.
Republic will step back into conference play next week with two home matches, Tuesday against Joplin and Thursday against Carthage.