Boys Varsity Soccer Goes 1 and 2 during the week

The Staunton Varsity Boys High School team went 1 and 2 this week visiting the Hiltoppers at Hillsboro and hosting the North Mac Panthers and Breese Central Cougars for Homecoming. On Tuesday, Sept. 19, the boys traveled to Hillsboro to take on the Hiltoppers. About 22 minutes into the match, Hillsboro scored on a corner kick to give the Toppers a 1 - 0 lead, which stayed that way going into intermission.

As the second half began, Hillsboro scored their second goal six minutes into the half to make the score 2 - 0, Toppers. At minute 23, the Bulldogs drove down the field for a shot on goal, but couldn't find the back of the net. Two minutes later, the Toppers scored their third and final goal of the match, resulting in a 3 - 0 defeat of the Bulldogs. Goalie Ty Simpson had 18 saves for the Bulldogs.

In the JV game, the Bulldogs were victorious 1 - 0. Ty Simpson scored on an assist from Ricky Barnes with three minutes left in the first half to give the Bulldogs the victory. The Bulldogs had seven shots on goal and goalie ,Matthew Overby, had eight saves in the match.

On Thursday, Sept. 21, it was a varsity match only. The Bulldogs hosted the Panthers from North Mac. 30 seconds into the match, Rhyse Rucker scored to give the Bulldogs a 1 -0 lead. Six minutes later, Peyton Luketich scored to give the Bulldogs a 2 - 0 lead against the Panthers. One minute later, Cole Aberle scored to give the Bulldogs a 3 - 0 and then Aaron Bodner scored the first of his two goals on the day to give the Bulldogs a 4 - 0 lead going into intermission.

Bodner began the second half scoring his second goal on the day to give the Bulldogs the victory with a final score of 5 - 0 for the match. Ty Simpson had collected two saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and Carson Buffington and Bodner each had an assist in the match.

On Saturday, Sept. 23, the Bulldogs hosted the Cougars from Breese Central for their Homecoming match. Just eight minutes into the match, the Cougars scored their first goal for the day, taking a 1 - 0 lead. 10 minutes later, the Cougars scored their second goal of the match, taking a 2 - 0 lead into intermission.

The Bulldogs fought hard in the second half and got their first goal of the match with Rucker scoring the Bulldogs first goal at the seven minute mark, on an assist from Ethan Sharp for a 2 to 1 score. However, the Cougars came back with another goal of their own at the five minute mark to take a 3 - 1 lead which led to a Cougar victory.

The Bulldogs are now 6 - 8 overall, 2 - 2 in the conference. This week, the Bulldogs traveled Tuesday, Sept. 26, to Greenville to take on the Comets, then they travel to Pana on Thursday Sept. 28, to take on the Panthers, before traveling Saturday, Sept. 30, to Maryville to take on Maryville Christian High School.

Submitted by Tim Seelbach