Macey Mitchell found the crossbar three times Wednesday night at Republic, but her one shot that did find the net helped set the tone as the Lady Tigers continued their midseason resurgence with a 4-0 win over Neosho. The victory marked Republic’s seventh straight win and third consecutive shutout, continuing a remarkable turnaround for a team that stumbled to a 3-5 start.
Mitchell ignited the Republic offense, drilling a shot from the top of the box with 24:32 remaining in the first half to put the Lady Tigers ahead 1-0. Claire Redman doubled the lead less than four minutes later, scoring from nearly the same spot on the field with 20:43 left before halftime.
The 2-0 advantage held until halftime, with goalkeeper Awbree Berning making a diving save with about 15 minutes left in the first half to preserve the shutout.
Republic wasted no time in the second half, adding two goals within the first four minutes. Kaylee Cornelsen scored first, followed by Andie Wistrom on a breakaway to extend the lead to 4-0 with 33 minutes remaining.
Mitchell was active throughout the match, hitting the crossbar three separate times – once in the first half and twice more in the second half.
“I think for me, I was just trying to get the intensity up at the beginning of the game,” said Mitchell. “We knew going in that we probably should beat Neosho, so I think that was on the back of our minds. I think starting us off really helped.”
Berning continued her strong play in the second half, making more saves to secure the clean sheet, including stops with about 11 minutes and 90 seconds remaining.
The victory marks Republic’s fifth shutout during their seven-game winning streak and seventh of the season. The team has rebounded impressively after starting the season 3-5.
“Our mindset never really changed. We knew that coming in, we had a pretty tough schedule to start, and we knew that we just had to keep grinding it out,” said Cornelsen.
Cornelsen explained the quick start after halftime: “We talked about keeping momentum and knowing they get that first goal, momentum kind of switches and wanting to have it on our side and just coming out fired up, ready to go.”
Neosho falls to 4-8 on the season.
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