For almost 100 minutes against Ozark, Republic soccer coach Mike Hines says his team “never, ever quit.” And late in the second overtime period, that work paid off.
Bishop Davidson won the ball in the middle of the field and fed Hugo Donjuan running down the right side. Donjuan took a couple of touches and shot just inside the 18-yard line. His shot went off the goalie’s fingertips and glanced off the inside of the post to give Republic a 1-0 victory.
“It just takes one touch, one bounce, and somebody wins 1-0,” says Hines. “We played with passion and heart and effort, and nobody ever quit, nobody ever got down, and they just started practicing what we’ve been teaching in practice for the past six weeks.”
Hines says the win is an important marker for his relatively young program.
“To beat Ozark, which is at the upper end of the COC, it means that we’re reaching and achieving goals that will help move this program in the right direction,” Hines says.
“This is the tough thing about soccer, that both teams battled, and they had opportunities to win, and we had opportunities to win, and we were fortunate and blessed tonight to come out on top.”