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Tigers not able to complete season sweep of Branson

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With Ozark’s sloppy play having been exposed in a 4-2 loss to Branson on Tuesday, the Tigers can only hope to bounce back in the manner midfielder Renato Granja has.

Granja’s comeback story from a hiatus earlier this year of more than three months has culminated in consistently good passing on his part throughout the season. He thrust himself in the spotlight by recording a go-ahead goal against the Pirates.

All this after he didn’t have much of anything to do with soccer for April, May, June and the first part of July.

“I took a big break from soccer,” Granja said. “I love soccer and had played it every day for a long time, probably since I was eight years old. But after club ball this year, I just stopped. I used to play three-on-three tournaments and all the tournaments. But I had a non-athletic life for a bit. I was burned out.”

Upon his return, Granja made sure to no longer be a perfectionist and not allow himself to get rattled. 

“I was able to refuel my body during my break and my mind was able to get re-set,” Granja said. “Before, I would get so frustrated that one simple mistake would get to my head. That’s when I would stop being composed and make silly mistakes. After my break, I’ve been able to concentrate better. I realize that if I stay composed and continue to play my game, things will turn out better.”

Granja’s break made him earn everything he’s gotten more so than any other year.

“Our first few practices and when we were having workouts in the morning, I was behind everybody else because I didn’t do anything over the summer,” he said. “Everyone else was more fit than me. But I pushed myself and got back in shape.”

Granja’s goal early in the second half at Branson gave Ozark a 2-1 lead. He booted in a shot from within the box off a rebound from a shot attempt by Adrian Ortega.

Tigers coach Zack Owens felt the goal was a prime example of how Granja has approached every match.   

“It was a great shot by Adrian and that was going in the side netting for sure. But their ‘keeper made a great save,” Owens said. “The ball fell right to Renato’s feet. He was smooth, composed and focused and put it in the back of the net.

“Center midfielders usually have the most touches, which means they also could have the most mistakes. But ‘Rena’ doesn’t make mistakes,” Owens added. “I never question his work ethic, his competitiveness or how hard he wants to fight for his team.”

“Sometimes, you can get nervous in that situation,” Granja said of his goal. “You look at the ball and shoot it and it doesn’t go where you want it to go. I saw an opportunity and put it in the back of the net with a hard shot on the ground.

“My goal is to not only keep myself composed, but help everyone else and have our whole team take our time, not be nervous, be composed and play as a unit,” he added. “My break allowed me to understand the game is not just about myself, it’s about everyone else on the team, too. I came back with the mindset to do this for myself and everyone else.”

Ozark (11-4-1 overall and 4-2 in the COC) went into halftime tied with Branson (11-4 and 4-2) at 1-all. Jose Ortega drilled in a shot from 25 yards out in the first half.

“That was Jose in his moment,” Owens said. “He took control, realized their ‘keeper was way out and put it in the back of the net. That was a great example for all our players, to see the focus and mentality it takes when it is your turn to step up.”

Highlights were few for the Tigers the rest the night. Branson all-stater Carlton Epps netted a pair of goals.

It was a quite a contrast to the teams’ first meeting, a 3-0 Ozark win at the Parkview Tournament last month.

“That was the third match for the teams in a long, hot tournament,” Owens said. “I don’t know how well they were able to go to their bench in their first two matches of the tournament versus what we were able to do. But I definitely feel we went into that match with fresher legs and it showed. Also, Carlton was coming off an injury. So, we knew coming into this Branson was going to be an entirely different team.

“Carlton is a great attacker and they have other weapons,” he added. “We knew when we were up 2-1 it would be tough to hold onto the lead.”

Owens saw plenty for the Tigers to improve on heading into this weekend’s Columbia Rock Bridge Tournament.

“We did some good things, as far as rallying behind our sophomore ‘keeper (Deagoh Soto),” Owens said. “Our senior back-line made some good saves for him in front of the goal in breakdowns where they had to play good one-on-one defense.

“But we need to improve our soccer IQ,” he added. “We did some silly things that I don’t expect from a group with this many seniors. It’s about being 100-percent mentally ready every time and doing your job, whether the ball is at your feet or not.”


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