JV Mustangs Bring Home the Owen County Tournament Championship Trophy
The Bishop Brossart JV Mustangs saved their best for last as they walked through their first two opponents, Boyle County and Calvary Christian, and beat the always tough Ryle Raiders, 1-0, to capture the championship of the Owen County Invitational Tournament. All tournament awards were handed out to four Mustangs; Joe Cropenbaker, Jon Muench Griff Ross, and Joe Webb. Leading scorers were Joe Webb (5 goals), Adam Manning, (3 goals) and Michael Liebel (2 goals), with one each for Jared Smith, Dallas Kremer, Brian Wolfer, Alex Sanker and Casey McGrath. Coach Ben Cassell had to be proud of his group as they put on a dazzling display of teamwork that was truly impressive to all who watched. Great to see all of the season long hard work, pay off on the last weekend of the year! Nice job coach!
The game summaries were as follows:
The first game was against Boyle County and the Mustangs came out smoking with the defense stopping every Boyle drive and the offense putting constant pressure on the opponent’s goal. Fifteen minutes into the first half, Joe Webb stole a pass near Boyle’s goal and slammed it into the net. 1-0 Stangs. A few minutes later Griff Ross pulled in a Boyle shot and lofted a long kick to Adam Manning who raced around the left side of the defense and pounded in a left footer to make it 2-0, Mustangs. Before I could complete my notes on that one, Mitch Patterson booted a corner kick to the center of the field off the head of Brian Wolfer onto the ground at the fifteen-yard line where a waiting Michael Liebel blasted one into the net. 3-0 Brossart. The route was on! A few more times down the field and we are taking another corner, this time by Casey McGrath who lofted a perfect cross, finally settling in front of the goal where Jared Smith wasted no time in punching in our fourth goal of the half. Just before the half, an inbounds pass landed in front of the Boyle goal where Dallas Kremer took sight on the goal and popped one in, making it 5-0 at half. The second half was much of the same with lots of shots and the final goal of the game coming on another corner kick by Casey McGrath off the body of Brian Wolfer into the net. Final, 6-0 Mustangs!
In the second game against Calvary Christian, the “Men in Green” wasted no time getting it going again when five minutes into the game, Alex Sanker received a ball at the opponents twenty five yard line, turned, leveled his sights and fired a cannon shot into the net. 1-0 Mustangs. Five minutes later, Adam Lubbers lofted a soft shot toward the goal that the keeper misplayed and dropped to the ground where an alert Michael Liebel quickly popped into the net making it 2-0. Five minutes after that, Justin Britton made a nice pass to a streaking Adam Manning who slammed a shot at the goal that the Keeper deflected to a waiting Joe Webb who promptly cleaned up the garbage with a slam to the net. 3-0 Brossart. No sooner than I put my pen down, Casey McGrath kicks another perfect corner kick to a hard charging Adam Manning who knocks a nice header past a diving Keeper making the score 4-0. Starting to get writers cramp at this point when Alex Sanker drives the ball up the field and dishes off to the fleet footed Adam Manning on the right side of the field who slammed a rocket to the left corner of the net giving the Mustangs a commanding 5-0 lead. The half was not over yet when Joe Webb drove down the left side of the field, juked his defender and ripped one to the right corner past a diving Keeper. 6-0 at half. Eight minutes into the second half, Mitch Patterson, who played a great midfield all day, dished out another nice pass to a streaking Joe Webb on the left side who slammed in another to give him three in the game. “Hat Trick”. Over the next twenty minutes, Brossart had a little let down where Calvary managed to score three goals, one on a fluke pooch shot and two on Penalty Kicks. With only a minute left, Justin Britton with the assist, slid a nice look-ahead pass to Casey McGrath who juked the Keeper for an easy finish pop into the net making the final Mustangs 8, Calvary Christian 3.
In the championship game against Ryle, the Mustangs came out with great intensity and just two minutes into the game, Mitch Patterson pitched a pass over the top of the defense to Adam Manning who broke away from the defense, causing the Keeper to come way out of the box to retrieve the ball. The Referee noticed that the Keeper came too far and stepped out of the box to grab the ball, giving Brossart a free kick from the eighteen-yard line. Several Ryle players argued the call with the referee, including the Keeper and while their attention was on the referee, Joe Webb, knowing the ball was in play, quickly set down and rolled a nice soft shot into the net. Referee said “Goal”. More arguing ensued but the goal stood, 1-0 Mustangs. The play was intense from the there on with both teams moving the ball but the defenses were playing equally well, turning away all attempts to score. Joe Cropenbaker, Brad Ostendorf, Adam Lubbers and Clint Ross were at their best and stopped any scoring attempts and also fed their midfielders well with accurate passes to control the tempo of the game. Midfielders, Mitch Patterson, Alex Sanker, Michael Liebel and Jeff Beane moved the team on several nice runs feeding the front line of Adam Manning and Joe Webb who each got off several nice shots. This one took a total team effort but paid off big time winning the Owen County Invitational Tournament Championship to finish up a great season for the young Mustangs.
Congratulations JV Mustangs!
The Bishop Brossart JV had no trouble putting away overmatched Grant County with an easy 4-0 victory on a night that was better suited for ducks. A slow, cold rain made the field a soggy mess but our boys managed to control the tempo of the game from the start. The offense was able to keep the ball at the Grant County side of the field most of the game, pounding one shot after another at the goal.
Finally, fifteen minutes into the game, three nice passes up the field found Brian Wolfer all alone on the left side who pounded a left footer into the right corner of the goal, giving the Mustangs an early lead, 1-0. Although we threatened many more times during the half, no more shots found the net.
The second half started just like the first with Brossart turning the pressure up on Grant. After Jeff Beane was fouled on the left side of the field, his free kick crossed the field in front of the goal where the “Tank”, Adam Lubbers knocked a header into the net making it 2-0, men in green. With seventeen and a half minutes left in the half, Mitch Patterson launched a long-range ball with authority that deflected off one of the Grant players and into the goal, making the score a comfortable 3-0. With three minutes left, an out of bounds pass bounced off several players, finally landing at the feet of Joe Webb in front of the goal where he wasted no time in slamming it into the net. Final score, Bishop Brossart JV 4, Grant Count 0.
The Brossart JV will play their final games of the season this Saturday at the Owen County tournament with the first game starting at 10:00am.
What seemed to be a dominate performance by the Bishop Brossart JV turned out to be a frustrating result. The Mustangs had the ball at the Pendleton County end of the field all night and with the score tied, you just knew it was a matter of time before we put one into the net but that was the problem; it ended early again due to darkness. Just one more………….. Who knows?
The game started well for the Mustangs with good team work and passing giving the offense several opportunities to score. Several nice runs by Joe Webb, Adam Manning and Mitch Patterson kept the Pendleton defense on their heels. The midfield also seemed to be under control with Casey McGrath, Michael Liebel and Jeff Beane leading the way, feeding the men up front with some nice passes to set up the runs at goal.
About midway through the half, Jeff Beane drove the ball to the left corner, juked his man and as he headed for the goal, the defender took him out at the knees, in the box, giving Jeff a Penalty Kick. Jeff promptly finished it with a perfect slam to the upper left of the goal, making it 1-0 Mustangs.
Just after the second half started and the daylight quickly fading, a Pendleton County player got loose and drove the ball to the right side of the field toward the Brossat goal. A Brossart defender’s attempt to clear the ball, sprayed the ball dangerously in front of our own goal causing Griff Ross to make a diving save. As he fell to the ground, the ball popped loose where a hard charging Pendleton player overpowered it into the net, making it 1-1.
Great defensive plays by Kyle Greely, Adam Lubbers and Clint Ross kept the ball at the Pendleton end of the field for the remainder of the game but time (daylight) ran out before we could get the winning goal into the net.
Although only a tie, the young Mustangs looked like they were back on their game with some consistant play getting them ready for a run at the remaining games on the schedule. Next for the JV with be Grant County on their home field at 5:30pm, this Thursday the 5th. Go “Green”!
After another long layoff, the JV Mustangs could not put enough together to get past the always tough Ryle Raiders. The two teams seemed to be very evenly matched as both teams were able to move the ball into position for shots on goal. Bishop Brossart did manage to put pressure on the Ryle defense several times but just could not finish for one reason or another.
The first half was where all of the damage was done. Eight minutes into the half, the Ryle offense managed to push the ball into the right corner where a player made a weak crossing pass in front of our net. A mix up in cummunication between two of our defenders allowed an alert Ryle player to pop the ball into the net making it 1-0, Ryle. Later, with only five minutes left in the half, a similar play occurred as the Ryle team drove to the right corner again but this time, crossed the ball hard in front of our goal. No Mustang was able to intercept the ball as it passed all the way to the opposite side of the fielc where a hard charging Ryle wing man slammed a hard shot into the net, making the score 2-0, Ryle.
The second half appeared as if the Mustangs had the edge with the offensive team making several nice runs and getting off several shots but none getting past the defense for a score. The defense played better also as Ryle did not generate any threatening shots the whole half. Solid play on defense all day came from Brad Ostendorf, Zach Mueller and Jeff Beane.
The next game for the JV Mustangs will be at Pendleton County on Tuesday, October 3rd at 6:30 pm. Let’s hope they keep it on the schedule so these guys can get back in the groove!
The last time the JV Mustangs were on the field together was August 31st and although they were all dying to get back onto the field, the rustiness really showed.
The game started with both teams struggling to get any sustained runs up the field. A couple of shots by both teams kept the defenses on their toes with neither team getting the upper hand. Half way through the first half, the Thoroughbred’s center mid, passed to the left finding a wide open teammate who finished with a nice shot to the corner of the net making it 1-0 Newcath.
The second half was more of the same with very even play and some very aggressive play on both sides. Joe Cropenbaker rallied the defense to keep the opponents at bay until ten minutes into the second half when Kevin Rust came hustling across midfield to steal a pass and broke free by himself on the left side of the field. When the Newcath defense closed on him, he quickly launched a perfect crossing pass in front of the goal where a waiting Joe Webb alertly slammed it into the back of the net making it 1-1. With the score tied, the intensity seemed to pick up but the defenses of both sides would not give any ground. Due to the darkness, the referee stopped the contest five minutes early making it final at 1-1.
Overall, a very hard fought game and not a bad
performance against a pretty good opponent after being off for two weeks.
Next up for the JV Stangs is Highlands this Saturday in Tower Park at 6:00
PM.
Anxious to get back onto the field after suffering
their first loss of the season, the Bishop Brossart JV Team wasted no time
getting back on the winning track with a 4-1 pounding of Holy Cross on the
Mustangs home field.
Three minutes into the game, the Holy Cross team drove
the ball right down the field, put up a nice crossing pass and popped a
quick header goal into the net giving the visitors an early 1-0 lead. This
seemed to wake the Mustangs up as they picked up the pace and the defense
tightened things up. Finally, with fifteen minutes left in the half, Kevin
Rust drove to the corner, worked his way free, and launched a cross pass
where a leaping header by Alex Sanker found the back of the net before the
opposing Keeper could move. Score tied 1-1.
Five minutes later, with the Mustangs now applying
constant pressure, Michael Liebel hit Mitch Patterson at about the eighteen
yard line who quickly dumped a short pass to a waiting Joe Webb who promptly
popped it into the goal, giving Brossart it’s first lead at 2-1.
With just five minutes left in the half, Adam (Tank) Lubbers put one wide to Justin Britton in the right corner where he made a nice cross-over dribble to bring him free from about fifteen yards where he slammed a left footed bullet into the corner of the goal to give the Mustangs a commanding 3-1 lead at halftime.
Just
two minutes into the second half, Kevin Rust got into the scoring column
with some nice one on one dribbling to break free for a sliding slap into
the net just getting it by the diving Holy Cross Keeper for the final goal
of the evening. Brossart 4, Holy Cross 1. The defense was not really
tested a lot in this game but several players, namely
Jared Smith, Dallas Kramer and Daniel McIntyre getting some quality minutes,
putting several drives together with some near misses at the opponents
goal. Joe Cropenbaker was the workhorse, playing like a football
free-safety, cleaning up and disposing of, anything that did make it toward
our goal.
The JV will next take the field on Tuesday, September 5th against Villa Madonna, on our home Pendery field at 6:30 pm, in the All ‘A” Regional.
The JV Mustangs lost their first game of the season to a very good Trinity team 2-0. It was a night to forget where Trinity controlled most of the game.
In the first half, the Shamrocks kept the pressure on the Mustang defense, keeping the ball on our side of the field, firing several shots on goal. The defense, led by Kevin Rust and Ryan Statmiller hung tough. Griff Ross also made several great saves at Keeper to keep Trinity from scoring in the first half. Just before the half, Brossart did make a couple of good runs toward the opponents goal and got off a couple of shots as things seemed to be turning around in our favor.
The second half was all Trinity. Five minutes into the half, a Trinity run off a nice pass from the midfielder left the ball carrier wide open for a shot which he put into the net making it 1-0. Ten minutes later, three precise passes made for an easy slap into the net for their second goal, giving them a 2-0 lead. Trinity actually picked up the pace at this point with several shots on goal but Jon Muench made one great save after another to keep anything else from going in. Great job Jon! Final score, Trinity 2, Mustangs 0. Best just to put in behind and move on.
The JV play next at Pendery on Thursday the 31st, at 6:00 pm versus Holy Cross.
From the very start, it seemed that the Bishop Brossart Junior Varsity was going to have things their way against the Scott Eagles. They moved the ball at will up and down the field with several opportunities to score. About half way through the first period, Joe Webb broke free in front of the goal and looked ready to take the shot. As the Keeper closed on him, Joe made a sweet move to juke past him for a wide open shot at the net. For what ever reason, Joe’s lucky number “13” did not work for him this time as he shot wide of the goal. Joe was obviously disappointed and based on the determination on his face; you just knew that he was going to get another chance to make amends later in the game.
With about ten minutes left in the half, a Brossart pass to the wing found Justin Britton who promptly drove to the corner, freeing himself rip a bullet toward the goal. Two Scott defenders and the Keeper couldn’t handle the hot ball and it ricocheted into the net. 1-0 Brossart! Up to this point, the defense was solid but the opponents did manage a couple of hard shots that Griff Ross handled with some nice saves.
As I said, you knew it was going to happen, with just five minutes left in the half, Michael Leibel sent an inbounds pass to Jeff Beane who drove hard to the left side where he hammered a crossing shot that the Keeper could not handle with the ball popping loose just in front of the goal where, guess who was waiting; number 13, Joe Webb was ready this time and popped it into the goal giving the Mustangs a 2-0 lead, but wait!! The PA announcer, reading down the roster finds another number 13 on the field (Kevin Rust, wearing his varsity #13 jersey) and announces Kevin as the player scoring the goal. Luck is not on your side tonight, Joe! Don’t worry; we all know you did it, Joe! Way to hang in there!
The second half was much the same as the first with the Mustangs taking a lot of shots with nothing getting through. Finally, twenty minutes in, Casey McGrath, who had a very solid game in the midfield, launched a pretty cross finding, guess who, the other number 13, Kevin Rust making a nice slide kick to give Brossart a commanding 3-0 lead. Nice assist, nice goal! These guys are starting to look pretty good!
Scott did manage to put one in with eight minutes left off of a crossing pass gone bad inadvertently finding its way into the goal, making the final score 3-1, Brossart.
The JV Mustangs hope to keep the momentum going next Tuesday, the 29th as they travel to Louisville Trinity for a 5:00 PM start.
Boone Game
The Bishop Brossart Mustangs took the field for the second time this season and showed once again that they are going to be tough to handle with a 3-1 victory over the Boone County Rebels.
From the time that whistle blew, it looked like Brossart was in control but during the first half, they could not put anything on the board. The Mustangs were able to put continual pressure on the Boone County defense and had several shots but could not put any into the net. Nice defensive plays by Joe Cropenbaker, Kevin Rust and Brad Ostendorf kept the opposition at bay.
The second half started the same as the first with Brossart putting on most of the pressure. Still couldn’t get any thing to go! Finally, ten minutes into the half, Brian Wolfer launched a perfect out of bounds pass from the left sideline to a cutting Adam Manning who chested the ball to the ground and drove to the goal to punch it into the net for the first goal of the game, making it 1-0, Brossart. The intensity was obviously picking up at this point!
Two minutes later, upfront pressure from Mitch Patterson, Adam Manning and Brian Wolfer forced a turnover that Brian Wolfer gathered in and dribbled left to right in front of the goal before slamming a shot into the back of the net giving the Mustangs a 2-0 lead. Nice move!
As the heads of the opposition began to drop, Alex Sanker dribbled up field with a couple of nice moves, threaded a nice pass ahead to the fleet footed Mitch Patterson who found himself one on one with the Rebels Keeper and won the battle with a quick punch to the right side of the goal giving the Mustangs their third goal of the night.
With Brossart now having matters well in hand, the coaching staff began to substitute freely. With about five minutes left, a Brossart defender was whistled for fouling a Boone player in the box, giving him a Penalty Kick, which he promptly poked into the left side of the goal, making the final score 3-1, Brossart.
Overall good team play carried the “men in green” to another victory, led by the midfielders, Alex Sanker, Justin Britton and Jeff Bean, who controlled the field and dished out nice passes all night, setting up the offense.
The JV will take the field next on Thursday the 24th at Scott High School for a 7:00 PM contest.
Dixie Game
Rust to the Rescue as JV Mustangs Open with a 3-2 Win!
Trailing 2-1 with the minutes winding down, Kevin Rust took matters into his own hands scoring two late goals to propel the JV Mustangs past the Dixie Colonels 3-2 in the opener of the season.
The game started off evenly matched with both teams moving the ball up and down the field. Both teams managed several shots on goal without success until the six minute mark when a Dixie player launched a shot too hot for Griff Ross to hang on to, causing the ball to pop loose in front of the goal where a trailing Dixie player poked it into the net to give Dixie the early 1-0 lead.
Ten minutes later, Kevin Rust got things going for the Mustangs, weaving his way up field with some slick dribbling and then sliding a beautiful pass between two defenders ahead of the field to a streaking Mitch Patterson, who finished it off with a well placed punch shot to the left side of the goal, leaving the Dixie Keeper flatfooted. Dixie 1, Mustangs 1.
Not more than five minutes later, a questionable foul call in the box gave a Dixie player a free kick from the sixteen yard line, which he buried left corner, giving Dixie the lead back at 2-1.
The second half seamed to be all Brossart with the ball headed in the “good guys” direction most of the time but shots were falling short of the mark. The defense, led by Joe Cropenbaker, Brad Ostendorf, Ryan Statmiller and Jared Smith, stiffened the second half and did not allow Dixie to get anything seriously started at all. With less than ten minutes left, Kevin Rust stepped up and took control, first by dribbling around two defenders finally breaking free on the right side for a finishing slam into the back of the net, to even the score. Just three minutes later, a nice cross by Ryan Statmiller, a head touch pass by Adam Manning, hit Kevin Rust in stride in front of the goal where he promptly deposited it once more in the nets for the game winner. Mustangs win 3-2!
Although a little rusty at times, the young Mustangs showed good teamwork and aggressive play. Not a bad start for the 2006 season! The JV’s next game with be against Boone County this Saturday the 19th, at 5:30 PM on the Rebels home field.