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Independence, MO —
Truth be told, it’s been a fairly long five days for the Fort Osage boys soccer team.
After last Thursday’s loss to Truman – Fort’s third consecutive defeat to start the season – the Indians went through a brief period of self doubt. A year ago, the squad finished a program best 21-3, won the Suburban Middle Seven Conference and often made the game seem effortless.
This season, even though Fort led in each of its first three matches, everything’s been a struggle. And Fort coach Andrew Fletcher admitted the Truman defeat battered his club’s confidence.
That’s what made Tuesday’s Suburban Middle Seven Conference meeting with William Chrisman seem a little more critical. And it’s what made the 2-1 victory at Fort Osage High School feel like such a breath of fresh air.
“Against Truman, we kind of fell apart,” said Fort sophomore forward Hayden Baumgartner, who tallied a goal and an assist against the Bears. “We had a bad attitude and everything. As a team on Monday we just kind of talked and decided we’re ready to step it up and show people we’re ready to play.”
Tuesday’s match also included a simplified game plan for the Indians (1-3, 1-0 conference). After losing senior defenseman Grant Watkins Davis to a leg injury that will keep him out for at least a month, Fletcher elected to shift to a 4-4-2 formation after utilizing a 4-5-1 format in the first three games. The original strategy was designed to give some assistance to Fort’s defense, which lost every starter from last year.
But the Indians struggled controlling possessions in their three losses. With two forwards on the field against Chrisman (2-2, 0-1), Fort dominated the ball.
“Their offense and the amount of pressure they were keeping on us made it difficult for us to push the ball up at all,” Chrisman coach John Straub said.
But the most encouraging sign for Fort was the nature of the victory. After allowing mistakes to snowball in earlier matches, Fort allowed a score to Chrisman’s Josue Najera, who launched a bullet from about 40 yards out that arced into the net in the seventh minute.
“I wish I could say he practices that a lot, but that’s the first time I’ve seen him hit that shot,” Straub said.
The Indians didn’t pout this time, though, and about eight minutes later Baumgartner lined up a rocket from 25 yards out to knot the score.
Truth be told, it’s been a fairly long five days for the Fort Osage boys soccer team.
After last Thursday’s loss to Truman – Fort’s third consecutive defeat to start the season – the Indians went through a brief period of self doubt. A year ago, the squad finished a program best 21-3, won the Suburban Middle Seven Conference and often made the game seem effortless.
This season, even though Fort led in each of its first three matches, everything’s been a struggle. And Fort coach Andrew Fletcher admitted the Truman defeat battered his club’s confidence.
That’s what made Tuesday’s Suburban Middle Seven Conference meeting with William Chrisman seem a little more critical. And it’s what made the 2-1 victory at Fort Osage High School feel like such a breath of fresh air.
“Against Truman, we kind of fell apart,” said Fort sophomore forward Hayden Baumgartner, who tallied a goal and an assist against the Bears. “We had a bad attitude and everything. As a team on Monday we just kind of talked and decided we’re ready to step it up and show people we’re ready to play.”
Tuesday’s match also included a simplified game plan for the Indians (1-3, 1-0 conference). After losing senior defenseman Grant Watkins Davis to a leg injury that will keep him out for at least a month, Fletcher elected to shift to a 4-4-2 formation after utilizing a 4-5-1 format in the first three games. The original strategy was designed to give some assistance to Fort’s defense, which lost every starter from last year.
But the Indians struggled controlling possessions in their three losses. With two forwards on the field against Chrisman (2-2, 0-1), Fort dominated the ball.
“Their offense and the amount of pressure they were keeping on us made it difficult for us to push the ball up at all,” Chrisman coach John Straub said.
But the most encouraging sign for Fort was the nature of the victory. After allowing mistakes to snowball in earlier matches, Fort allowed a score to Chrisman’s Josue Najera, who launched a bullet from about 40 yards out that arced into the net in the seventh minute.
“I wish I could say he practices that a lot, but that’s the first time I’ve seen him hit that shot,” Straub said.
The Indians didn’t pout this time, though, and about eight minutes later Baumgartner lined up a rocket from 25 yards out to knot the score.
“The neat thing about tonight was we go a goal down and just kept playing,” Fletcher said. “Last week we’d have been two or three goals down. That’s terrific. That’s just attitude and the boys having heart. We battled.”
Baumgartner was in on another goal in the 42nd minute when he lobbed a perfect free kick to a charging Richmond Forbis who knocked in his sixth goal of the season to put Fort up 2-1.
“I felt like I’ve tried a lot this year and haven’t really been successful,” Baumgartner said. “After Truman, it was just kind of a thing, you’ve got to step up now.
“We’re very ready to excel and do a lot better. We did what we wanted and we just need to get better from here on.”
That’s a message Fletcher’s been preaching all season. He admitted some of these early struggles considering the Indians are dealing with a lesser experienced group and have lost a few players to eligibility and injury issues. That’s why his tone – and outlook – have remained steadfastly upbeat.
“I knew we would struggle,” Fletcher said. “But of course teenage boys are all down and think we need to do this and this and this. We talked about not rewriting the whole book. Let’s just fix the small stuff, let’s play hard. ... And then we talked about just moving forward, especially in conference.
“And there you go, we’re 1-0.”
