Junior midfielder Jake Pierce scored three goals and assisted on two others Tuesday night, helping power the surging Fulton Hornets soccer team to a 6-0 NCMC win over Boonville.
Pierce produced the only goal of the first half in the 7th minute, scoring off an assist from freshman forward Trevor Neal.
Pierce made it 2-0 in the 8th minute of the second half when he scored on junior midfielder Chad Davis' assist, then Pierce assisted on sophomore forward Peter Plakorus' goal in the 15th minute.
Pierce added his third goal in the 27th minute, coming off an assist from sophomore forward Zach Thomas. Just a minute later, Fulton went up 5-0 when Pierce returned the favor and assisted on Thomas' goal.
"Jake plays a very energetic game, but he's also very composed," Hornets head coach Dave Milligan said. "He goes to the right spots at the right times. He's smart and heady, and knows what to do with the ball when he has it."
Thomas supplied his second goal of the game when he scored off an assist from Plakorus in the 38th minute.
The victory was the fifth in a row for Fulton, which improved to 10-6 overall and 4-2 in the North Central Missouri Conference. The Hornets ended up with 15 shots on goal and three corner kicks on Boonville's FieldTurf surface.
"When we won the ball (in the first half), we would kick it quickly up front and try to take advantage of the fast turf, but it really wasn't effective," Milligan said. "In the second half we were passing the ball more and using the midfield more; we were able to create more openings and spaces."
Fulton limited the Pirates to just two shots on goal and no corner kicks. Senior goalkeeper Dan McClure picked up his seventh shutout of the season.
"The whole night our defense did a great job of taking away any kind of Boonville attack," Milligan said.
Meanwhile, Milligan reached a milestone of his own by recording his 250th career victory.
"I was a little more excited about this one, for some reason," Milligan said. "In 16 1/2 years of coaching, that's an average of about 15 wins a year.
"I've had a lot of good kids to work with."
The Hornets (4-0-1) played to a scoreless tie in Tuesday night's junior varsity game.
Fulton captured the championship of the Camdenton Laker Shootout Tournament on Saturday. The Hornets capped off play in the round-robin format with a 3-0 win over Lebanon.
McClure, Thomas, junior defender Sam Mayne and junior sweeper Morgan Milligan each scored goals in the victory. Junior goalkeeper Nick Heimericks posted the shutout while McClure moved to forward.
Pierce, McClure and Milligan were named to the all-tournament team.
"I was really pleased," Dave Milligan said. "We made some adjustments to our formations, and the kids embraced it and played hard."
Fulton travels to Marshall for an NCMC matchup at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Lady Owls volleyball team
goes 1-1 at William Jewell
LIBERTY -- William Woods University slipped to the .500 mark at 11-11 after splitting its matches Tuesday night at the William Jewell College Invitational.
The Lady Owls opened play with a 26-24, 21-25, 25-23 and 25-17 loss to host William Jewell. William Woods then bounced back with a 31-29, 25-20 and 25-13 win over Haskell Indian (Kan.) Nations University.
Junior middle blocker Lauren Fleming topped the Lady Owls with 11 kills against William Jewell. Senior right-side hitter Briann Rodriguez contributed 10 kills, while freshman setter Sarah Wehmeyer and sophomore setter Emily Nolte provided 25 and 14 assists, respectively.
Sophomore defensive specialist Amanda Henley paced William Woods with 20 digs and freshman outside hitter Nichole Lolohea logged four blocks.
Sophomore middle blocker Alicia Green tallied a team-high 10 kills for the Lady Owls against Haskell, while Wehmeyer and Nolte both had 22 assists.
Henley directed William Woods with 16 digs and added three service aces.
The Lady Owls host Stephens College in an American Midwest Conference match at 7 tonight at Anderson Arena.
New Bloomfield softball...15
California..........................13
CALIFORNIA -- Senior Amanda Howard was an offensive force Monday night, driving in eight runs as the Lady Wildcats closed out the regular season by outlasting the Lady Pintos.
Howard delivered a pair of two-run doubles in the first and fifth innings, followed with an RBI triple in the sixth and topped off her impressive showing with a three-run home run in the seventh.
Senior Megan Cockrum also supplied a two-run single for New Bloomfield (3-14), while freshman Bethany Craighead had an RBI single.
The No. 5 seed Lady Wildcats face No. 4 Russellville at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Class 2, District 7 Tournament at Tipton.
Owls, Lady Owls sweep titles
at own WWU Fall Invitational
The Owls and Lady Owls golf teams were dominant in winning the titles in their own William Woods University Fall Invitational that concluded Tuesday at Tanglewood Golf Course.
The William Woods University men, led by senior Austin Waibel, accumulated a two-day total of 567 (284-283) -- establishing a school record for 36 holes. The Owls finished 23 shots ahead of their second-place junior varsity "A" team.
Meanwhile, the William Woods women -- paced by sophomore Naomi Starr -- compiled a two-day total of 599 (307-292), also setting a school record for 36 holes. The Lady Owls demolished second-place Baker University by 115 shots.
Waibel claimed the men's individual title with a two-day score of 133 (64-69), which set a school record. His opening round of 64 on Monday also set a William Woods single-round mark.
Starr picked up the women's individual championship with a two-day total of 144 (73-71), setting a school record. Her first round of 73 on Monday also established a William Woods record.
The William Woods men have won, or tied for first, in three of their first four tournaments. The Owls play Oct. 14-15 in the NAIA National Championship Preview at the TPC at Deere Run in Silvia, Ill.
The William Woods women have prevailed in three of their first four tournaments. The Lady Owls compete Oct. 10-12 in the University of Missouri-St. Louis Triton Invitational at Gateway National Golf Course in Madison, Ill.
Held, Meyer dominate AMC
weekly cross country honors
William Woods University's Cheryl Held and Ryan Meyer on Tuesday swept the American Midwest Conference women's and men's cross country runners of the week awards, respectively, for Sept. 27-Oct. 4.
Held -- a junior from Wildwood -- finished ninth in 18 minutes, 48.76 seconds, in the women's 5-kilometer race at the Emporia State (Kan.) University Invitational on Oct. 1. It's the second time Held has received the AMC honor this season.
Meyer, a sophomore from Bonnots Mill, came in 10th in 25:42.35 in the men's 8-kilometer event at Emporia State.
Both William Woods teams run in the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Border Wars on Saturday.
Boonville............................2
FMS volleyball (8th)...........0
The host Lady Hornets tumbled to 0-7 on the season after Tuesday night's 25-10, 25-16 loss to the Lady Pirates.
Fulton Middle School opens pool play against Winfield at 8:40 a.m. Saturday at the Warrenton Invitational.
Beck, Alcorn guide FMS
cross country teams
MOBERLY -- Libby Beck finished 13th (13 minutes, 11 seconds) and Eli Alcorn took 15th (11:36) to pace the Hornet and Lady Hornet cross country teams, respectively, at the Moberly Invitational on Sept. 30.
Also placing for the Fulton Middle School girls were Brooke Baysinger, 32nd in 13:53; Rachel Quick, 33rd in 13:56; Katie Herzing, 41st in 14:06; Megan Coleman, 56th in 15:07; Bethany Libbert, 62nd in 15:56, and Tiffany Harley-Barton, 75th in 17:19.
Other place-finishers for the FMS boys included Nick Hajzak, 32nd in 12:38; Jacob Garnett, 38th in 12:55; Devin Wiebelhaus, 43rd in 13:18; Conner Foote, 45th in 13:19; Michael Hubbert, 64th in 13:58, and Chris Banks, 90th in 15:44.
Alcorn (14th, 10:50) and Beck (25th, 12:34) also led both FMS squads at the Warrenton Invitational on Sept. 28.
Also placing for the Hornets were Hajzak, 41st in 12:04; Foote, 44th in 12:09; Wiebelhaus, 50th in 12:16; Garnett, 54th in 12:28; Hubbert, 61st in 13:05; Banks, 77th in 14:04, and Kyle Johnson, 80th in 14:51.
Other place-finishers for the Lady Hornets included Baysinger, 37th in 13:06; Quick, 42nd in 13:19; Herzing, 46th in 13:36; Coleman, 58th in 14:02; Libbert, 86th in 15:54, and Hartley-Barton, 92nd in 16:14.
Both FMS squads ran in the Mexico Invitational on Tuesday. Results were not available at press time. The Hornets and Lady Hornets end their season at the Patriot/Trailblazer Invitational at 4 p.m. Friday.