Mules blank SHS soccer team

Sikeston keeper Jason Deere had 16 saves in Monday's 5-0 loss to Poplar Bluff

POPLAR BLUFF - The Sikeston soccer team dropped its final game of the regular season on Monday as district play heats up this weekend.

The Bulldogs (4-12-2) lost to Poplar Bluff 5-0 on the road.

Sixth-seeded Sikeston will compete in Class 1-3, District 2 at Notre Dame High School on Saturday where they will meet No. 3 Hillsboro at 11 a.m. Seven teams in all compete in the district.

"We don't know much about them," said Sikeston head coach Derrick Long of Hillsboro. "We played them a couple years ago and beat them 2-0. They look like they've had a pretty good year, they're 10-4 right now. So it should be a tough matchup."

On Monday, Poplar Bluff jumped out to a 3-0 lead by halftime. The Bulldogs were out-shot 21-12. Goalkeeper Jason Deere recorded 16 saves.

The Mules took the lead when Justin Caudel scored at the 20:00 mark. Shawn Wrinkle and Caudel added goals at the 32:00 and 37:00 marks for the halftime lead.

"We played alright," said Long. "Bluff's got a good team this year, they've got a lot of seniors. They work really well together and they pass well. They jumped out early on us and we were kind of on our heels."

Jason Duckett scored at the 60:00 mark while Wrinkle added a second goal at the 72:00 mark to reach the final margin.

"We played much better in the second half," said Long. "Our defense and midfield played with them. We seemed to be in the game.

"They probably controlled the ball 65 percent of the time. But I thought our defense played pretty good. We just didn't get many scoring opportunities for our forwards to get more involved in the game."

Sikeston's junior varsity lost 3-0 to Poplar Bluff. The Bulldog jayvee team ends its season at 7-7-2.