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Eagles' dynamics offensively changing after loss of midfielder Butler to torn ACL

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With the shock of losing Andrew Butler to a torn ACL gradually settling in over the summer, his Nixa teammates are focused on staying on what they hope is a championship course.

Butler tore his ACL in June and underwent surgery in July, thus ending his Eagles career.

As a junior midfielder last year, he led Nixa with 14 goals, to go along with eight assists, and earned Class 4 All-State Second-Team and All-COC First-Team honors.

Butler is one of eight seniors this year who have earned a varsity letter since they were freshmen. He was a three-year starter.

“We will play differently because he was our best attacker I'd say,” midfielder Colin Cash said. “I feel worse for him. It's his senior year and he loves playing. It sucks that it got taken from him.”

“He's the closest friend for me on the team and we have had a chemistry, me him and Colin passing and moving,” forward Carson Palmer said. “It's hard seeing him on the sideline. He has good spirits. I would have terrible spirits, missing my senior year.”

“It's a little bit of a mental barrier, coming from him being our best offensive player last year and it's definitely a big deal for our chemistry,” defender Kaleb James said. “It's definitely going to be weird not having him on the field. We've been playing together since we were all 6 years old. He was one of our core players.”

Coach Evan Palmer has drawn from his defense to give his offense a boost in Butler's absence. Sophomore Caedon Cloud has  changed from being a defender to a midfielder. Early last season, he moved from offense to defense.

“The dynamic of not having Andrew definitely hurts,” Evan Palmer said.

“It's a big blow for us. He was one of our big guys. But we’ve got a couple guys who are stepping up who I'm excited about and think they
can do the job."

“We're going to have players like Caiden, Corey Kemp and Zach Naugle step up,” James said. “That will bring our offense together.”

"Losing Andrew hurts, it's going to be a huge factor," Naugle said. "We have people stepping into that role."

The Eagles promise to do their best to keep Butler included in all team activities and welcome any contributions he can still make.

“He's still part of the team,” Cash said.

“He will be on the sideline encouraging us,” James said.

The Eagles will also draw motivation from Butler

“When it all happened, our morale was down,” defender Seth Weatherfield said. "It’s a big change, after playing with him for eight years. We're making sure we, ‘Do it for Andrew,’ and he'll still be out here being a leader for us on the bench.”


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