Panthers bounce back against Burlington

It didn't take long for the Mt. Pleasant boys' soccer team to rebound from their loss at Ft. Madison Monday. The Panthers hosted Burlington on Tuesday and picked up a bounce-back win, defeating their future Southeast Conference rivals 3-1, giving head coach Neil Schmitz his 300th career win.

Mt. Pleasant scored almost immediately. Nathan Rauenbuehler made it 1-0 right away with a penalty kick in the first minute.

Nobody scored for the rest of the first half, but that didn't mean there weren't chances on both sides. The Grayhounds had a great chance at a goal in the last minute, getting the ball past keeper Logan Lee on a fastbreak. Hunter Stearns hustled to keep the ball out of the net, and Lee made a diving stop on a loose ball to end the threat, keeping the Panthers up 1-0 at halftime.

The game stayed a defensive struggleuntil the last 15 minutes of the game. With 14:14 remaining on the clock, Cade Warner sent in a header off a Dillan Malone cross, sending the ball to the short side of the net and giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead.

Mt. Pleasant immediately followed Warner's goal with one of his own. He put in the third goal of the game and Mt. Pleasant took a 3-0 lead.

Burlington was able to score once in the final minutes but it was too little too late for the Grayhounds.

Mt. Pleasant moved to 6-2 overall with the win. They'll look to win their seventh game of the season on Thursday, April 18, when they host Central Lee.