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Ozark's undefeated ways in COC continue in 3-1 home victory versus Carthage

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Motivation came in many forms and brought out the best in Ozark on Tuesday.

Wingers the likes of Grant Ogle haven’t had trouble keeping from being complacent this season, given the competition for playing time on coach Zack Owens’ roster.

Ogle took advantage of a rare starting nod Tuesday by netting the first goal of the night in Ozark’s 3-1 COC triumph versus Carthage.

“I came out knowing I had to keep my spot. I came out intense and wanting to score a goal,” Ogle said. “The competition on the team is intense on the wings because we have so many wingers wanting to be out there. The starting positions have changed up a lot because some people might not be playing as good one week. It changes all the time. It’s good motivation.”

Coach Zack Owens was glad to see Ogle make good use of his increased playing time. 

“Grant is someone who has been coming off the bench for us. He’s earned that (starting) spot,” Owens said. “Statistics don’t lie. He’s earned the right to play.”

Owens added competition throughout Ozark’s lineup has spurred the team to the top of the COC with a 7-0 league mark and a 15-4 record overall.

“That’s a tough sell for the boys sometimes, to have them understand that the more competition we have within the squad, the better it is for us and the better we are,” Owens said. “It’s a tough sell when they’re not getting the playing time they want. We’re honest with them. We let them if you’re not in form, someone will be and they’re going to step up and take playing time away from you. We’re also very honest with them about what is hopefully going to get them more playing time. We try to put the ball at their feet so to speak.”

“There is a lot of competition to try to stay on the field,” said forward Adrian Ortega. “That’s good, it’s healthy for the team.”

Ortega had two goals to up his season total to 27 and tie Lawson Spence’s single-season school record.

Caleb Lepant assisted on all three Ozark goals.

“The facilitator strikes again,” Owens said. “Caleb was the assists master. He had a hat trick of assists, even though that’s not a thing.”

Ozark shut out Carthage’s highly-touted forward Welle Welle.

“He’s a great player, but our defense played great,” Owens said. “Our two center-backs slowed him down multiple times when he was trying to get breakaways.”

“I’ve known him for a while. We compete indoors and it’s always competitive,” Ortega said of Welle. “He’s a great player and he created some opportunities for himself tonight. But luckily we were able to stop him.”

Ozark had lost three straight to Carthage, a stretch that included a 3-2 overtime setback in a Class 4 District 5 first-round match last season.

“We owed them one,” Owens said. “We used that as a motivator. Luckily, with this team, though, I don’t have to pull out tricks to motivate them. They’re pretty intrinsically motivated themselves. It’s nice to have kids like that. A lot of them were part of that first-round loss. They remembered it.”


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