Lady Wildcats rolling into district play
BY KYLE TROUTMAN ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com
At 12-5-1 this season and 8-1-1 in its last 10 matches, the Cassville girls soccer team is seeing no shortage of success, and things coming in threes.
Ranked No. 19 in Class 2 going into last week, the Lady Wildcats earned three wins to extend their streak to five, and two of the three were comeback victories.
Jake Forste, Cassville soccer coach, said Cassville was trailing Lighthouse Christian 1-0 at halftime of the April 29 contest.
“[We] turned it on for 4 goals in the second half,” Forste said. “We were a little sluggish in the first half, and they converted on a counter-attack. They were defending with a 5-4-1 (two sweepers), and we were having a tough time breaking their shape down. In the second half, our first goal was a missed catch from the keeper that Emma [Berndt] slid in and finished on the run.
“From there, the other 3 came in pretty quick succession. I thought once we scored the second, the break was on, as they were forced to abandon a pretty compact shape to chase the game.”
Berndt finished that contest with a hat trick, making her the new sin- gle-season scoring leader in Cassville history with 16 goals at that time, surpassing Jazmin Aguirre, one of the program’s original players.
Senior Audrey Gosvener also wrote her name into the history books, setting the single-season assist record at 10, surpassing Aguirre’s teammates, Kamryn Jaques and Juliette Okel.
The following day, Cassville hosted New Covenant Academy, a team the Lady Wildcats beat 2-1 on March 21, the first win over NCA since 2019.
Cassville fell behind 1-0 at the half, then with only 7 minutes to go, NCA added a second on a long free kick.
This time, Gosevener played the hat trick hero, netting two breakaway goals in the final five minutes, then finishing the game with a third goal midway through the second half of overtime. Two of her goals came by way of Berndt.
“[That was] honestly one of the craziest games I’ve ever been a part of,” Forste said. “That second [NCA] goal was pretty debilitating, but I was impressed with our ability to respond so quickly. Walk-off wins are about as fun as it gets, and I think that was about as dramatic of a win as I can remember ever being part of.”
Cassville capped the week with a senior night win over Fair Grove, 4-0, with Berndt adding 2 to her record-breaking goals total and Gosvener getting a goal and an assist. Berndt and Rozenn Planchard also added assists, and senior Scotlyn Richardson had the other goal.
Berndt and Gosvener have set individual records, but the Lady Wildcats as a team may set a new mark this season, as well.
At 12 wins, Cassville has tied its record for wins in a season, and as of Monday afternoon, the Lady Wildcats still had at least three games to play. The state rank of No. 19 is also the highest Cassville has ever reached, and new rankings coming out today (Wednesday) will likely move Cassville up again.
Combining the Lady Wildcats’ 12 win this season with the 15-8-1 boys in the fall, 27 wins is the most combined in a year for Cassville soccer.
Cassville is looking to keep the goals, assists and wins coming, and to do so, it will have to do something else a third time — beat NCA.
The No. 4 seed in the Class 2, District 5 tournament, hosted by Logan-Rogersville, the Lady Wildcats face No. 5 New Covenant at 6 p.m. on May 13, with the winner to face the victor of No. 1 Logan-Rogersville and No. 8 Monett at 4:30 p.m. on May 16. At the bottom of the bracket, No. 2 Bolivar faces No. 7 Aurora, and No. 3 Clinton plays No. 6 Stover/Cole Camp.
“[NCA is] a talented team and well-coached,” Forste said. “Both games against them were backand- forth rock fights. I anticipate it will be another one of those to complete the trilogy this season.”
