Sikeston shuts out North County 5-0 on senior night

SIKESTON — Communication was key to Sikeston’s success on senior night, as the Bulldogs (7-9-0) won 5-0 over North County (1-12) at the Sports Complex on Thursday, October 5.

“Led by Barrett Stokes at goalkeeper, the defense set the tone from the beginning by negating each and every attempted North County attack and finding passes to build down the field,” said Sikeston coach Gabe Dement. “This was a result of team communication and allowed the offense several chances to score.”

The offense eventually responded nine minutes into the match when Tristan Wiggins scored off of a through ball from Christian Parker. Sikeston continued to press the Raiders and the pressure led to another goal by Jaden Johnson with 12 minutes remaining in the first half.

Less than two minutes later, Wiggins got his second goal off an assist by Gunner Hopkins. The 3-0 halftime lead felt comfortable, but in a recent match with a comfortable lead, the Bulldogs lost focus and nearly had the match leveled.

“The halftime discussion, led by some of the seniors as well as other team leaders, focused on remaining focused, keeping up effective communication and finishing the final 40 minutes strong,” Dement added. “In addition, our defense’s biggest goal was to keep the shutout to build confidence for future matches.”

Within the first five minutes of the second half, PJ Farmer and Wiggins made sure the game would remain out of reach by finishing chances off of two assists from the shifty freshman Johnson.

The defense combo of Levi Douglass, Chris Artis, Rush Ault, Connor Wicker, Mauricio Bautista (first game back from injury), Jackson Couch, and holding mids Carter Grimes and Kaleb Hubbard made sure that any shot taken by the Raiders would be from far enough outside of the box that Stokes was able to calmly save.

“The shutout is the second of the season and the win over a district opponent is key for seeding purposes,” Dement said.

Wiggins’ three goals and assist puts him at 17 goals on the season. Johnson and Farmer each follow with 11.

The next match for the Bulldogs is Monday, October 9 when the team hosts No. 13 Farmington (9-2-0) in another Class 3, District 1 matchup. It will also be the Gold Out Game which benefits St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in making sure that no family has to pay for cancer treatments.