Carl Junction falls to Glendale in Class 3 quarterfinals

May 28—CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — For the first 10 minutes, Carl Junction went toe-to-toe with Glendale.

But the Falcons, utilizing a fast style of play, got momentum as sophomore midfielder Avery Givens found the back of the net off a rebound.

Glendale took a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute and added a big insurance goal late in the first half en route to a 4-0 victory over Carl Junction in a Class 3 quarterfinal soccer clash on Saturday afternoon at Bulldog Stadium.

The Falcons (20-3) advanced to their first Final Four since 2012. Glendale meets Ursuline Academy, a 1-0 winner over Notre Dame (St. Louis), at 11 a.m. next Friday at the World Wide Technology Park in Fenton, Mo.

"For us, it was just doing what we do," Falcons coach Jeff Rogers said. "We knew coming in we wanted to put them under constant pressure. We created a lot of good looks. When you put teams under constant pressure, they just can't get anything going forward.

"So that's what we were able to do today. I told them at halftime that the next goal sets the tone. We were fortunate to keep them under pressure and find the goals that we needed to advance."

The setback ended a highly successful season for the Bulldogs, who were making their first quarterfinal appearance in school history. Carl Junction finished 21-6 — the program's winningest season since the team went 23-4 in 2014.

"Twenty-one wins is something to be proud of," Bulldogs coach Ed Miller said. "Our girls did a great job. We went 21-6 and finished third in the COC. We were very successful in the conference, which in the past, is something that has always been a problem for us being a small fish in a big pond. I thought we competed and did a really good job. I'm very proud that we won our district. I'm very happy with the team's performance and getting better and better throughout the season."

A name with roots to the Joplin area scored Glendale's second goal. Just a freshman, Charlie Wistrom launched a kick from 10 yards out into the back of the net as the Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the 38th minute.

And yes, Charlie Wistrom is the daughter of former Webb City football icon Grant Wistrom, who went on to have an illustrious career at Nebraska as a defensive end and was a Super Bowl champion in the National Football League.

"It's in her DNA," Rogers said. "She's a competitor. She's had a great freshman year. To crack that volley with three left going into half to put that two up, that's what you want your juniors and seniors to do, but she's just a freshman. I love her work ethic. I love her attitude. I'm glad she's on my roster."

Glendale got a pair of goals from Reilly Heman in the second half. The junior scored in the 75th minute and 77th minute to account for the Falcons' final scoring.

"I thought Glendale kind of took us out of our game," Miller said. "We needed to connect some passes, get some momentum and confidence going. We just weren't able to do that today."

Goalkeeper Chrissy Figueroa was a bright spot once again for Carl Junction. The junior amassed seven saves.

Rogers was quick to credit for the Bulldogs' performance.

"Carl Junction just played hard," Glendale's coach said. "A lot of credit to them. They made us work for it, but I knew if our kids played the way we have been playing all year, we were going to be OK. I'm happy for the kids. I'm looking forward to going to St. Louis."

The Bulldogs graduated five seniors, four of which are starters. But the cupboard will be far from bare next year as Carl Junction brings back a deep junior and sophomore class.

"(The seniors) have been a really good nucleus for us," Miller said. "They started for four years and built on that. We added our junior class and our sophomore class, so three good classes right there. We played our best ball at the end of the year.

"But with that depth, we had people that got a lot of playing time, a lot of varsity experience this year. I think they will slide right in and hopefully pick up right where they left off."