Tough starts put Madill in an early hole in season opening soccer losses at Durant and the Wildcats came up empty in search of their first win in tournament competition.
Coach Nathan Fitch’s Lady Wildcats dropped the opener in a 4-1 decision as they were playing catchup throughout after conceding a goal in the first 30 seconds of the contest.
The Wildcats fell to Durant 3-2 in a penalty shootout before a tough go against a host of 6A teams in the Moore Tournament. In that one they dropped a 4-1 verdict to Moore ahead of a 3-0 loss to Piedmont and 2-0 facing Yukon.
Both teams were slated to close out the pre-Spring Break portion of the schedule this week against Noble in the home opener.
Girls
Madill settled in after yielding the initial score, progressing the ball up the field nicely in the first 15 minutes but didn’t have anything to show for it.
Durant added a goal at the 26:41 mark after poor clearance. The Lady Wildcat defense was up to the task later in the half while turning back a penalty kick attempt.
A golden opportunity with under five minutes remaining with a strong corner kick from Anayah Sage that missed a wide-open Isabell Stuckey just six yards out.
The Lady Wildcats controlled possession for much of the first 15 minutes of the second half, narrowing the gap when Hadon Stuckey blasted an indirect free kick over the Durant keeper from a Julia Santillan assist. A questionable call for a free kick led to the Lady Lions’ third goal. Durant added a late score for the final margin following attacking changes by the Lady Wildcats.
“It was a difficult game against a good Durant team that was physical and technically good,” Fitch commented. “The girls put in a good shift but just lacked that final product. I thought Stuckey in the midfield and Camila Guevara at center back were standout performers. We took lots of positives away from the game as well asthingsweneedtoworkon.”
Boys
The Wildcats rallied from an early deficit in the season opener, notching a goal with three minutes left in the half when Gomez drove home a left-footed blast from 15 yards out that knotted it 1-1.
Madill claimed a 2-1 advantage with 22:24 remaining in the second half on an Orta free kick from 30 yards awaythatgotovertheheadof thekeeper.Durantanswered with 11 minutes to play to tie the game and eventually force the extra penalty kick period.
Senior Adrian Gomez punched in the first opportunity of the extra session with a blast into the upper left corner. Eduardo Martinez added a goal that deflected off the diving keeper and into the net.
The Wildcats’ final score came when Alex Garcia laced one into the lower left corner to even the shootout session. A Christopher Narvaez diving save preserved the tie but Durant knocked in the final shot after Madill’s final try sailed wide left.
Inthetournamentopener, the Wildcats had seven shots on goal and possessed the ball 52 percent of the game but could only muster one goal from it. That came from Sammy Duran off a Gomez assist. Narvaez finished the game with seven saves.
On Saturday the Wildcats ran into a defensive-minded Piedmont group that only allowed three shots on goal in the shutout. Narvaez tallied eight saves.
Things didn’t get much better against 6A Yukon in the finale as Madill once again posted three shots on goal with 11 saves by Narvaez.
Matt Swearengin
The Madill soccer teams have a rough start to their season.