Mules down Tigers for first time since 2016

The last time Poplar Bluff beat Cape Central in boys soccer, none of the Mules roster had made it to high school ... or junior high.

It was back on Sept. 20, 2016, when the Mules last beat the Tigers, in a 7-0 drumming at home.

While Thursday wasn’t a drumming, it was a 2-0 victory and a shutout for the Mules, something Rusty Crafton was excited about after the game.

“That’s three in a row for us,” he said. “It’s a district match, it’s a conference match. It’s big for us. It boosts our confidence.”

The Mules started their current tear back on Sept. 5 when they hosted Carbondale (Ill.) and beat the

Terriers 4-.0.

After a win at Seckman, Poplar Bluff has now outscored its opponents 9-1 in its last three matches.

Crafton said attacking is something that Central had the upperhand in during Poplar Bluff’s loss to the Tigers earlier this season in Notre Dame’s annual

soccerfest.

“The first time we played these guys, they had the pressure on us ... so we just turned it around and put it on them,” he said. “That was the plan.”

On Thursday, Crafton and his guys rewrote the script.

The Mules wasted no time is getting the ball into the attacking third of the field as they had their first close call with around 25:00 left in the first half. It was long after that they finally broke through.

Senior Blaise Rowland find a way to put the ball in the back of the net as he wrestled with multiple Tigers defenders.

Rowland’s goal gave the Mules a big boost that they never let go of.

“I was thrilled,” he said. “It was a tough opponent like Cape and they always come with some dogs. When I put that in, I was just like yeah, we’re taking this home.”

About five minutes later, Rowland helped get the Mules even closer to home as he made the game 2-0.

“We had more opportunites,” Crafton said. “I think the first half we played really well, we got a little complacent this second half but we knew they were going to come attack in that first five or 10 minutes of the half and they did. The guys played through it and played well.”

The Tiger offense is a stout one with them scoring multiple goals in six of the previous seven matchups.

But, the Mules defense did its job for its second shutout of the season in part to a few stellar saves from sophomore keeper Darrious Wallace.

“Defense was great,” Crafton said. “Big shutout for Darrious and our defense. This is a tough team to shutout. They don’t get shutout very much. They stood up and kept their ground. They played well.”

Rowland’s two goals proved to be the difference for the Mules as neither team could find the back of the net in the second half.

He said he knew coming into the matchup that he was going to be ready.

“In my entire high school career, we have never beaten Cape Central before,” he said. “We were really hyped to come out tonight and played a really good game and beat them for the first time in seven years.”

Hyped the Mules were as it was a complete effort from Crafton’s crew.

The win puts the Mules at 5-2-1 and on a three-game winning streak before taking on Sikeston next week. Poplar Bluff still has seven home games on the schedule for this season.

“We’ve got potential,” Rowland said. “It’s time to go show it.”