A-J boys’ soccer off to strong start during rebuilding season

After losing a number of seniors to graduation, coach Mark Boomer considered this season to be a rebuilding year for his Anna-Jonesboro Community  High School Wildcats.  

Starting only two seniors to go with six juniors and three sophomores, his prediction certainly appeared accurate.  

But a cooperative agreement between A-J and Cobden to allow students from both schools to play for the Wildcats has added to the Cats’ team strength.  

As a result, the Wildcats may be surprising some folks as they have jumped out to a 6-1 record against some solid opponents.  

The season began for A-J with a disappointing 4-2 home loss to perennial Missouri power Notre Dame High School of Cape Girardeau.  

The Wildcats have never beaten Notre Dame and this home opener was a game that the Wildcats thought they should have won but allowed to slip away.  

Perhaps that disappointment was the catalyst to the wins they have earned since.

Just two days after the home loss, the ‘Cats went to Carbondale to play in the Carbondale Kline Invitational.  

The tournament was made up of strong teams from Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri.  

In addition to A-J, the tournament teams were Carbondale, Alton Marquette, Breese Central and Waterloo from Illinois, as well as Sikeston, Cape Central and Perryville from Missouri.

A-J opened tournament play against Cape Central. Trailing 1-0 at the half the ‘Cats rebounded in the second period to win the opening game 4-1 and moved into the winner’s bracket.  

A-J’s next opponent was Sikeston. The ‘Cats scored two goals in the first half and made it stand, winning 2-0.  

That set up a championship game with Perryville, which had beaten Carbondale in the other semifinal game.

The Pirates proved to be a strong opponent with great speed. They attacked the net well and kept pressure on the ‘Cats.  

But A-J managed two first half goals to the Pirates one and eventually won the championship 4-3 over Perryville.

In the tournament, the ‘Cats’ opponents went a combined 6-3, with each team’s lone defeat coming against A-J.  

Since the Kline tournament, Sikeston and Perryville have continued to demonstrate their strength playing against each other last weekend at the Cape Notre Dame Soccerfest, with Perryville coming away the champion.  Sikeston beat Notre Dame of Cape Girardeau in that tournament 2-1 in the semifinal.

The ‘Cats returned to regular season play following the Kline championship.  They went on the road to defeat Harrisburg 7-0 and came back home this past Saturday to defeat Wesclin, 6-1.  

This past Monday the ‘Cats were again on the road at Poplar Bluff and came home with a hard fought win over the Mules, 3-2.  The ‘Cats now stand at 6-1.

Next week the ‘Cats will host Mt. Vernon on Monday, Sept. 16 and Massac County on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Both games are at 4:30 p.m. at the A-J field located at the Union County Soccer Complex on Brady Mill Road in Anna.  

Thursday, Sept. 19, the ‘Cats will be home again to host the Marion Wildcats.  

Marion is considered to be one of the top teams in the area and this game should be one of the best tests this year for the Cats.   

The Marion game is also being designated as Union County Youth Soccer Day and players, parents and coaches of the Union County Soccer League are being provided tickets for free admission to this game.  

The A-J and Cobden student-athletes invite all family, friends and supporters to all of their games next week.