By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
Springfield Central, which pulled a mild upset in the first round, is the Joplin soccer opponent today in the Class 3 District 12 Tournament at Joplin High School.
The top-seeded Eagles, who had a bye in the opening round, and Central are scheduled to play at 4:30 p.m. in the first semifinal. It’s their first meeting of the season.
Central, which rallied from a 2-0 deficit, handed fourth-seeded Neosho a 3-2 overtime loss on Monday.
Second-seeded Carthage tackles No. 3 Willard, a 7-0 winner against Hillcrest, at 6:30 in the second semifinal.
The championship match is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday on the Joplin campus.
Carthage defeated Joplin 3-2 last season in a district championship at Willard.
Joplin, 14-4 overall this season, wound up in the upper echelon of the Ozark Conference at 7-2. The Eagles had at least five matches canceled because of inclement weather.
“We believe Central is 10-10,” Joplin coach Ed Miller said. “Their leaders include senior sweeper Andrew Gibson, junior scoring leader Jordan Salvato, who has some 30 goals, and junior center midfielder Kelsey Garnett.
“Garnett is a nice midfielder,” Miller said. “He’s able to distribute the ball well and also kind of runs the show for them.”
“We have a solid team,” Miller said. “We have versatility. We have depth, too.
“We want to compete for 80 minutes and go after the ball. We want to match the intensity of our opponent,” Miller said. “We need to make sure we convert some of our opportunities.”
Miller said six seniors have contributed to the Joplin success.
They are Luke Barr, Alec Belden, Max Duncan, Miguel Farias, Eli Welch and Sam Yount.
“All six are important,” Miller said. “All have contributed.”
Miller said that Welch, recovering from a broken collarbone, was scheduled for X-rays on Monday in hopes of getting the green light to play in the district tournament.
“I’m sure he wants to play, but he has to get cleared,” Miller said.
Parker Maher, a sophomore, is the Eagles’ scoring leader with 17 goals and 15 assists. Duncan, who missed several early matches, has 14 goals.
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