Republic captured the championship of the Lady Pirate Classic in Branson Saturday afternoon, defeating Bolivar 2-0 in the final match. The victory capped off a successful tournament run that included an 8-0 win over Monett Friday night and a 2-1 victory against Lighthouse Christian Academy Saturday morning.
Andie Wistrom broke the scoreless tie with less than seven minutes remaining in the first half. Playing from the right wing, Wistrom sent the ball toward the middle, where it deflected off a defender back to her. She fired a left-footed shot that caromed off the Bolivar goalkeeper into the right side of the net.
Republic extended its lead with 18 minutes left in the second half when Wistrom fed Adison Gibbs with a pass ahead. Despite a difficult angle far wide to the right about 10 yards from goal, Gibbs shot across the face of the goal into the left side of the net to make it 2-0.
The goal was Gibbs’ fourth of the tournament, while Wistrom’s score marked her second of the weekend after netting her first varsity goal Friday.
“Just proud of the girls to be able to rally behind one another and support each other after starting the season 0-3,” said coach Jesus Zuniga. “It’s not easy to play three games in a span of 24 hours, and several teammates were able to chip in minutes.”
Zuniga credited the team’s challenging early-season schedule with preparing the team for this weekend’s tournament.
“I think our tough first three games helped build a mindset for this weekend,” he said.
The championship featured strong defensive play from Republic, which recorded two shutouts during the tournament.
“(I’m) thankful we have a group who are willing to try new things and adapt and learn on the fly,” Zuniga said. “Happy for our defense to get shutouts.”
Republic finishes the weekend with a 3-3 record. The Lady Tigers are back in action at Ozark on April 1.
