Big second half lifts Sikeston soccer team over Cape Central 5-1

sports@standard-democrat.com

SIKESTON -- Although Chase Baron put the Sikeston Bulldogs up 1-0 after the first half, they seemed a little rattled.

In a high intensity game against visiting Cape Central, both teams seemed to be more interested in small skirmishes within themselves rather than the game itself.

However, the Bulldogs, for the most part, put the small stuff behind them and tacked on four more goals in the second half to win going away, 5-1.

Their win Thursday tied the school record for wins in a season with 15.

"The first half, I think we were a little rattled," Sikeston coach Doyle Noe said. "We were retaliating to what was going on out there and our heads weren't in it. We talked a lot about that at halftime. We just need to play through them and pressure them. When you do that, good things are going to happen."

Brandon Goodwin punched in two goals while Quentin Hyde and Hunter Williams also added one a piece to give Sikeston the big margin of victory.

"It's a huge win," Noe said. "(Cape Central) is always a solid team and they picked up a big win this week against Notre Dame. They're playing really well. They're a scrappy team, aggressive and to beat a team like that going away is huge."

Goodwin, who recently broke a single game school record for most goals earlier this week with seven, put the Bulldogs up 2-0 in the 58th minute.

"He's a solid player and five or six games ago he really dedicated himself to working hard and going all out when he's out there," Noe said about Goodwin. "It's paying off. He's really stepped up and they're big goals that he's scoring. We were up 1-0 and to give us some breathing room to go up 2-0 was huge."

Cape Central scored their lone goal with 22 minutes left in the second half with a header that snuck by Sikeston keeper Michael Gipson.

Gipson, though, made up for it with a quick save during a Cape Central penalty kick to thwart any chances of a Tiger rally.

"He makes a heck of a save to preserve us," Noe said. "If that goes in, it's 2-2 and they have momentum and it might be a different ball game. We came down to make it 3-1 and the momentum completely went our way."

Hyde answered with a goal just two minutes after Cape Central scored their goal after beating his defender and scooting a shot towards the left corner of the net for a 3-1 Sikeston advantage.

A nifty assist from Williams across the box to an awaiting Goodwin gave Sikeston a 4-1 lead with just over two minutes left in regulation, shutting the lid on the Tigers for good.

Williams added another for good measure with under two minutes left to go.

"In the second half, I thought we settled down," said Noe. "We got our focus back, put our noses down and just played. We kept playing and put five goals up."

Sikeston out-shot the Tigers 16-9.

The Bulldogs (15-4) will be off all next week and will pick back up on Monday when they host Poplar Bluff on senior night.