Four years in the making: Webb City soccer off to a tremendous start

Apr. 17—It was four years in the making.

Nick Harmon knew what his stellar freshmen class was capable of when he first took over Webb City's girls soccer program in 2018.

"We had a pretty successful year with them as well as that senior class," Harmon said. "We knew then that three to four years down the road they could be pretty competitive."

And here in 2021, the Cardinals have played 13 games and won 11 — one of the fastest starts in the program's young history.

Webb City has earned wins over Crocker 4-3, Liberty 6-0, Hillcrest 3-0, McDonald County 8-0, Cassville 8-0, Aurora 8-0, Monett 8-0, Rogersville 4-1, Central 6-0 and Joplin 8-0.

The Cardinals also topped Ozark 1-0 on Thursday night, the first win over the Tigers in program history.

"It's a big confidence-booster for them to have done that," Harmon said. "They work together so well. There's not a selfish player on the team. They all genuinely care for each other off the field as well as on. It doesn't matter who scores the goal as long as the team is doing well and we are winning. I don't think I've ever had a group on the boys or the girls side that enjoys being around each other as much as these girls do."

Webb City, which features one of the area's most experienced rosters, has a high-powered offense with three players already tallying 10 or more goals this spring and another with nine. Senior forward Haven Stanley paces the team with 17.

"I think how aggressive she has been and confident she has been," Harmon said. "We've always known she has had that capability to score amazing goals. She's done it more consistently this year. She is doing it week-in and week-out, night-in and night-out."

Senior striker Melia Blair is close behind with 13 goals and 11 assists. She was also just recently named MaxPreps Missouri Player of the Week.

"She has worked really hard over the last year to take her game to the next level," Harmon said. "She has always been really good with her feet, ball control, good sense of awareness and passing. She is a good finisher."

Junior forward Anea Bemo has found the back of the net 12 times, while senior forward Mileah Metcalf has nine goals and as many assists. Senior midfielder Rylie Huff has seven goals and four assists.

Goalkeeper Delaney Duke has collected 44 saves.

"She has made some massive saves for us," Harmon said. "She has obviously been a big part of our success with a lot of our wins."

Cree Vaden, Austyn Mickey, Sage Cranford, Piper Chapman, Chloe Johnston and Sophia Booher have also been key performers.

After a road date at Willard on Tuesday, the Cardinals travel to Branson next Thursday. Webb City will return to Cardinal Stadium to host Rogersville on April 26 and COC rival Carl Junction a day later.

Making a deep postseason goal is the biggest goal for the team.

"The girls have been pretty focused and driven all season long to end on a good note and take home a district championship," Harmon said. "We want to make a postseason run in the state tournament and go as deep as we can. I think winning (on Thursday) definitely opened their eyes to the possibility of finishing atop of the conference this year. We definitely have the potential to be the team to beat. We are excited about that."