Soccer continues for MP boys

BURLINGTON ? Part of next year?s Mt. Pleasant boys? soccer team traveled with Coach Neil Schmitz to Burlington over the weekend to compete for the first time in the Summer Soccer Showcase.

?This was a great weekend for the team as we look to build on the success of the recent season and prepare for next year,? Schmitz said.

The Panther players ? next season?s sophomores, juniors and seniors ? went 2-3 on the day.

They lost 6-0 to the No. 1 team from Quincy High, which Schmitz called ?a very good team.? The Panthers, meanwhile, were adjusting to their new group and got off to a rough start.

But the Panthers improved on the day, losing their second game to DeSoto (Kan.) by a score of 3-2, and then taking a team from Alton, Ill., to a 3-3 tie before losing on penalty kicks.

The Panthers got their first win against the younger, No. 3 team from Quincy High. With 15 minutes left, the game was called due to lightning, and the Panthers were up 2-0. Zoom Gwama scored both goals on rebounds off shots from Bo Vitale.

The Panthers? final game of the day was against the No. 2 team from Quincy High.

?This was an evenly matched game that ended in a 1-1 tie,? Schmitz said.

Vitale scored the Mt. Pleasant goal in regulation with a shot from about 30 yards out on the left side. The Panthers then won the match on penalty kicks with goals by Yiannis Steryiannis, Brach Prough and Vitale. Michael Alderson stopped three of the five kicks by the Quincy players to seal the victory.

The Panthers play again in the showcase from June 22-24 at the Burlington Recplex. Their first three games are Friday at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 9:15 a.m. There will also be another game later on Saturday, and the final game will be Sunday morning.