CARTHAGE — The repeated pounding of drums from Carthage’s rabid fan base didn’t weigh on Andrew Butler’s mind Tuesday. But try as he might, the Nixa forward couldn’t get the outcome of the Eagles’ regular-season contest with Carthage escape his thoughts.
A mere two weeks after Nixa pounded Carthage 9-1, the Eagles bowed out of Class 4 District 5 play with a 2-1 overtime semifinal loss to the same Tigers.
“I tried to get myself into a good mindset tonight and I think everyone was trying to get themselves into a good mindset,” Butler said. “But it’s always in the back of your mind, that you just beat them 9-1. It’s difficult to get that out of your mind and to know you’re coming in here with a clean slate.”
“When you win that big like we did two weeks ago, all the pressure is on us,” coach Evan Palmer said. “We cracked a little bit.”
Nixa looked like may be on its way to another blowout win after Carson Palmer drilled a goal from 30 yards out only eight minutes into the match.
But the Eagles weren’t able to set themselves up for shots on goal nearly as well the rest of the night.
“It was not how we wanted to play,” defender Kaleb James said. “We like to knock the ball around, possess through teams and dot them up through play from our midfielders. Tonight, we were just kind of kicking it long and not finding Collin (Cash) and Carson at midfield. We couldn’t get anything going on the offensive side.”
“We started to kick it and hope,” Butler said. “We don’t have as good a chance to win and score when we play like that.”
When Nixa’s passing at midfield was sharp, the Eagles couldn’t continue to convert downfield.
“My touch was really off tonight and I’m sure a lot of other people thought theirs was, too,” Butler said.
“We need to work on our touch as much as we can at high speeds. That’s what let us down tonight,” Evan Palmer said. “Our forwards weren’t connecting. We were getting balls through and then it would get stuck on our foot or something.
“We cracked a little bit,” he added. “Saying that, I know the guys fought hard. It wasn’t like they didn’t try. We didn’t play terribly. We had our moments in which we played well. We just needed more of them.”
The second half did indeed include some spectacular moments. There were saves from the goalies and defenders on both sides. James seemed destined to score on a header, but Carthage’s goalkeeper leaped to grab the ball just before James could hit it.
One common theme of the night was Carthage controlled the ball more than Nixa did.
“It was very back and forth possession-wise,” James said. “But I thought they wanted it a little more than we did.
“One thing with Carthage is they always possess well,” Evan Palmer said. “They find the open man. They’re good on the ball and it’s tough to get them off the ball. It was a lot tougher to do that tonight that it was a couple weeks ago. We weren’t able to get the chances we got against them a couple weeks ago.”
The importance of the settings of the teams’ two matches can’t be overstated. Carthage’s fans turned out in great numbers at home and made their presence felt. In addition to the pounding of their drums, the Tigers’ fans were vocal.
“We told the guys they were going to bring the house tonight and they were going to be against you,” Evan Palmer said. “It was a lot fun. It’s great to play in an atmosphere like this. It makes it very festive, makes it an event.”
“I loved the pressure and atmosphere,” James said. “For some of our players, though, we were cracking under it.”
“It’s really unique,” Butler said of the atmosphere. “They have a really good fan base. But when they’re always yelling when people fall down, it’s kind of annoying because they obviously want everything to be called for their team.”
The Tigers rewarded their fans with four minutes left in overtime, when George Laytham netted the golden goal beyond the outstretched arms of Nixa goalie Logan Elmer.
“We left a kid open in the box and you’ve got to expect they’re going to score on those,” Evan Palmer said. “That’s the way it goes.”
Nixa (14-9) dropped five of its final seven matches. The Eagles enjoyed a streak of nine wins in a row from late September to mid-October. Their winning streak included victories versus five teams with a winning record.
“What’s frustrating is we didn’t have the touch and poise that we had a couple weeks ago,” Evan Palmer said. “When you lose that edge, it’s hard to get it back. We had that edge for a good month. Then, we started to lose it a little bit and then, there it goes.”
Carthage (14-9) moves on to meet Kickapoo (19-6-1) in the District final on Thursday.
“We were hoping for another chance at (Kickapoo),” Evan Palmer said. “Carthage definitely has a chance. But Kickapoo is strong and will be tough to beat.”
