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With Carlton sidelined, Sandgren provides Tigers much-needed lift

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Caleb Sandgren’s stoic demeanor was tested twice Thursday, as he scored his eighth and ninth goals on the season to lift Ozark past Springfield Central 2-1. After each of his goals, Sandgren turned to teammates for a business-like high-five as he jogged away from the net and toward mid-field. All the while, he didn’t sport even a hint of a smile. “I really don’t have a celebration,” the Tigers senior midfielder said. “I kind of just want to move on and am thinking, ‘Let’s get more.’” It’s a lesson he learned over the summer from his club team, Sporting Springfield. “One of my Sporting Springfield coaches liked us to have a poker face,” Sandgren said. “He would tell us that if we don’t celebrate it strikes fear into the other team that we’re going to go even harder.” There was another reason Sandgren wasn't exactly in a celebratory mode. Ozark's players and coaches are still reeling from the loss of goalkeeper Trevor Carlton to a broken collarbone.  Reports are he will be sidelined for six weeks. "We’re all still mixed up from that," Sandgren said. "He has stepped up and been our leader this season, telling us what we need to do and where we need to go. Taking him out of there is devastating. Now, we have new positions and a new leader in our backfield. It changes our whole game. It’s got us all jumbled up.  "We’re trying to figure out how to adapt to our new ‘keepers and new playing styles," he added. "We’re going to have to grind it out the rest of the season. We’re hoping and praying (Carlton) is back by the post-season." Carlton suffered the injury during a scrum with a Webb City player Tuesday. Tigers coach Zack Owens said the incident was unnecessary. "Webb City scored a goal on us to make it 3-1 and they rushed to try to get the ball out of the net," Owens said. "In high school, the time stops (after a goal) so you don’t have to do that. They tried to go get it, anyway, and the ball was behind Trevor and a kid tried to grab the ball from under him. They had a little altercation and the kid shoved Trevor to the ground." Deagoh Soto handled the 'keeper duties in the first half against Central and Declan Cummings took over in the second half. "We’re testing some things out, as far as our person between the sticks," Owens said. "Everyone needs to understand their assignment and that they need to execute whatever that assignment is. I think they’re ready to do that. It will work out. Luckily, we have a lot of wisdom in our 11 seniors. They’re all going to rally around each other." Sandgren is among Ozark's seniors who have emerged into leading roles. Prior to this season, he had started just two games in his Tigers career. "He had a tremendous off-season with Sporting Springfield and gained a ton of experience from phenomenal coaches," Owens said. "His improvement from last year to now is tremendous. We’re super happy with everything he’s been able to do." Sandgren has already tripled his scoring from a year ago. "My goal this year was double digits (for goals) and I’m already just one goal away," Sandgren said. "I want to get past (10) and keep going. We still have about half our season left. There are plenty more to come." Jose Ortega and Adrian Ortega each provided an assist to Sandgren. Jose's assist gave him 58 points for his career and pushed him past former teammate Dillion Holesapple's 57 points for 13th place on Ozark's career points record board. The Tigers (11-3-1) would have liked a bigger winning margin against Central (6-6). "For some reason, we’re playing to our opponent’s level, no matter how good or how bad they are," Sandgren said. "We’re that team this year. We’re trying to get out of that. That’s something we need to figure out and take control of."

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