No. 4 Neosho County raced past Arkansas-Cossatot, 5-1, on Saturday in men’s soccer action despite missing four starters who were serving various suspensions to remain unbeaten.
Neosho County conceded the first goal of the game off a corner kick where Cossatot’s Kobe Sutherland netted the ball amidst a scrum.
“We started the game pretty well, we just were unfortunate to concede on a set piece early,” Neosho County head coach Elliot Chadderton said. “When you make the changes we made, we won’t be perfect on set pieces. We usually have guys in certain positions that know their role. When you make changes, we have to adjust. But the way the guys bounced back was excellent.”
In the 28th minute, Neosho County equalized with a goal from Paul Eder.
Keane Hazeldine and Cohen Izzard added goals in the first half to send the Panthers into the locker room up 3-1.
“We dominated play and I wasn’t too concerned when we were 1-nil down,” Chadderton said. “I knew we’d equalize and get a second and third. We just kicked on in the second half.”
Hazeldine and Izzard scored once more apiece in the second half.
“I told the guys before the game that a lot of guys had some frustrations with getting minutes. It was a chance for them to step up and let me trust them,” Chadderton said. “That’s part of having a good squad and we saw it today.”
Three Panthers suspended for scrum at Allen After defeating the Allen Red Devils in Iola, 1-nil, on Wednesday, an Allen player ran off the bench and onto the pitch to punch a Neosho County player.
In the ensuing scrum, the Allen player retreated off the pitch. Three Neosho County players, Luke Butcher, Zak ElHannach and Rhys Brunton, followed the Allen player off the pitch but never engaged in a physical confrontation.
The NJCAA levied the three a twogame suspension for entering a fan area.
Neosho County star striker Callum Niven also served a one-game suspension on Saturday for accruing his fifth yellow card of the season against Allen.
“I was actually very proud of the guys,” Chadderton said. “The punishment the three got was for entering the fan area. That’s a rule and you’ve got to deal with it. At the end of the day, there were things that were thrown their way and they didn’t do anything out of line. I’ve had positive feedback from (Athletic Director) Riann (Mullis) and from the president of the college about how the guys applied themselves. Yes, we got the punishment. But I’m looking at what my guys did … they took what they took and that happens.”
ElHannach will miss the next two games as he also racked up his fifth yellow card against Allen.
Up next
Neosho County, now 9-0-2 on the campaign, heads to Pratt on Wednesday. The Panthers beat Pratt at home, 3-1, on Sept. 13.
“It was a tight game last time, but we’re a different team than we were three weeks ago,” Chadderton said. “If the guys can step up like they did today, we won’t have any issues.”
