McDonald County Plays Season Opener

Eh Doh Say scored in the final minute of a 2-1 loss to Aurora for the McDonald County Mustangs’ only goal during scrimmages against Aurora and Cassville on Aug. 17 at Cassville High School.

Aurora scored the first goal of the 35-minute scrimmage at the 26-minute mark and added the eventual game winner a minute later.

Say had a couple of near misses before he took a pass in the middle of the Aurora penalty box and knocked it into the back of the net with 31 seconds left.

Aurora had 12 shots on goal while McDonald County had seven. Say led the team with three shots, while Malachi Smith just missed a goal when his shot from distance bounced off the goal post.

In their second match, the Mustangs and Cassville battled to a 0-0 draw.

McDonald County put up nine shots on goal while Cassville had 13.

“I thought it was a good showing overall,” said coach James Carter. “Eh Doh (Say) and Malachi (Smith) played great. Eh Doh made a nice shot on his goal and Malachi had a couple of incredible strikes from 30 yards out.”

McDonald County opened the 2017 season on Aug. 24 with a pair of pool matches in the Cassville High School Soccer Tournament. Tournament finals are set for Saturday, Aug. 26, beginning at 9 a.m. with the fifth-place game followed by the third-place match and championship game set to start at noon. Other teams in the tournament include New Covenant Academy, Fair Grove, Thomas Jefferson, Aurora and Cassville.

McDonald County will also travel to Riverton on Aug. 29 for a 5 p.m. match.

RICK PECK/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS McDonald County’s Malachi Smith tries to elude a pair of Aurora defenders in the Mustangs’ 1-0 loss to the Houn’ Dogs at a three-team scrimmage held on Aug. 17 at Cassville High School.

RICK PECK/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS McDonald County’s Eh Doh Say lets loose a shot against Cassville during a three-team scrimmage held on Aug. 17 at Cassville High School.The Mustangs and Cassville tied 0-0 while Aurora claimed a 2-1 win over McDonald County.