SBLive weekly boys soccer wrap (Nov. 21): Yossel Sanchez's late free kick stunner leads Pearl past Germantown

Each week, the team at SBLive Mississippi will take an in-depth look at the past week’s high school boys soccer action, as well as a look ahead to the action to come in the following week. 

Here’s a look at the weekly boys soccer wrap for the week of Nov. 14 to Nov. 20.

Games of the Week

Pearl 1, Germantown 0 

The Germantown Mavericks (7-1-0) took their seven-game winning streak on the road to Pearl Thursday night. The Mavericks could not have imagined a better start to their season after winning each of their first seven games, including recent impressive wins over George County and Sumrall. 

The Pearl Pirates (4-1-0) came in riding a hot streak of their own, with their lone loss on the season being a close defeat to Clinton High School, last year’s 6A North State runner-up. 

The game started with lots of energy from both sides. Each team traded chances as they both attempted to settle into the game. It was the Mavericks, in the 15th minute, began to take control. 

The Mavs got more consistent in the possession battle, then began to get forward and create chances. This started in the 16th minute, when the Mavs’ Connor Stewart had a one-on-one with the Pearl goalkeeper, who got a huge save. The Mavs pressure continued when Ethan Hunt beat his defender and put a very dangerous cross in that was cleared by the Pirate defense. 

The Pirates ultimately held strong defensively and even created a nice chance of their own in the 29th minute when Noah Webb nearly found himself free in the open field with just the goalie to beat. The Mavs' keeper came off his line and stopped the chance, preserving momentum as the two teams went into the half tied 0-0.

Whatever Pearl head coach Richard Scoggins said to his team at half, he may want to keep in his back pocket for later in the year. The Pirates came out in the second half looking like a different team. They began to take on more possession and it felt as if each possession ended in a solid attempt on goal for the Pirates.

This included a moment in which a Pirates’ attacker, who beat his defender, had just the goalie to beat but pushed his shot just wide. The Pirates had another great chance in the 64th minute, when Javion Roberts got a shot on goal from the wide right portion of the field. 

The Pirates pressure finally paid off when Yossel Sanchez’s attempted a free kick in the 70th minute. The midfielder struck the ball with force and perfectly placed over the goalie’s head, giving Pearl a 1-0 lead. That would ultimately prove to be the difference as Pearl took home a well-deserved win off a great second-half performance. 

Goals:Yossel Sanchez (70’)
Assists:None

Players of the Game

Pearl – Yossel Sanchez
Germantown – Ahmad Omar

Up next: 

Pearl will look to utilize this momentum in their next game — a huge matchup against Warren Central to open Region 5-6A play on Nov. 30.

Germantown will have the opportunity to regroup over the Thanksgiving break before playing host to Newton County and Northwest Rankin High School on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2, respectively. 

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Madison Central 2, Starkville 0

The Starkville Yellowjackets (1-3-2) made the two-hour trip south on Tuesday night to face the defending 6A State Champions, the Madison Central Jaguars (3-0-1). A matchup of unbeaten teams was sure to be a compelling contest. The Yellowjackets were weekend winners over Caledonia High School by a margin of 3-0 and had an impressive 1-1 draw with Clinton High School the week before.

Madison Central’s unbeaten streak included a pair of strong wins over two very talented teams in South Jones and Desoto Central who the Jags faced over the last weekend at the Laurel Soccer Showcase. 

Starkville made it clear early on in the game that they were going to play a physical game and were not intimidated by the Jags. Led by center back Soren Voges-Haupt and right back Max Buehler the Yellowjackets were no strangers to hard tackles and made life difficult for the Jags attackers. 

The Jags were able to generate their first chance of the half in the 14th minute when winger Dillan Smith went flying past two Starkville defenders but pushed his shot just wide of the net. Starkville’s chances were limited to mostly free kicks as Voges-Haupt was able to drop in kicks into dangerous areas that were ultimately cleared by Madison Central defenders. 

The best chance of the first half came in the 38th minute when the Jags’ Anderson Farrar put a nice cross in the box that found the head of teammate Will Farthing, but the ball sailed just high of the post. The teams remained deadlocked 0-0 at half in a defensive showdown.

In the second half, the Jags continual pressure began to cause problems for the Starkville defense. Following some close chances for the Jags from Compton Ross and Terron McIntyre, the Jags finally put a goal on the board in the 53rd minute. 

Farthing found himself at the top of the box, where he struck the ball perfectly on the half-volley straight to the left side netting to open the scoring, giving the Jags a 1-0 lead. 

The Jags kept up the pressure following this and found their second goal in the 56th minute on a beautifully worked sequence that started with Caleb Davis swinging the ball wide to Dillan Smith, who set the cross up on a tee for Regal Perry, who finished it home scoring the Jags second goal. Starkville had a few chances late, but Madison Central defense held and Big Blue walked away as 2-0 winners in a very physical contest. 

Goals: Will Farthing (53’), Regal Perry (56’)
Assists: Dillan Smith (56’)

Players of the Game
Madison Central – Will Farthing
Starkville – Soren Voges-Haupt

Up next:

Madison Central will now head into the Thanksgiving break with Ocean Springs High School waiting for them on the other side on Dec. 3 and the first Region 4-6A match against Murrah on Dec. 4.

Starkville was back in the Jackson Metro on Thursday in a 2-1 loss to Brandon, then lost 1-0 to Lewisburg at home Saturday. The Yellow Jackets return to action Dec. 10 against Grenada.

Other top results across the State this week:

Monday, Nov. 15:

Sumrall 2, Germantown 5
Southaven 0, Center Hill 3

Tuesday, Nov. 16:
Oak Grove 1, Clinton 0
Florence 0, Northwest Rankin 3
Oxford 2, Desoto Central 6
St. Andrews 2, Clarkdale 2
D’Iberville 0, Biloxi 1

Thursday, Nov. 18:
St. Martin 0, Biloxi 7
Warren Central 4, Ridgeland 0
Hernando 1, Desoto Central 4
Southaven 1, Lewisburg 2
Starkville 1, Brandon 2
George County 1, Northeast Jones 0

Friday, Nov. 19:
Oxford 1, Center Hill 5

Saturday, Nov. 20:
Oak Grove 0, Northwest Rankin 1
Lewisburg 1, Starkville 0 
Lafayette 3, Corinth 1 

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A look ahead

With the Thanksgiving break fast approaching and few games next week, we will preview action for the next two weeks. Games of the Week will resume the week following Thanksgiving (Nov. 28 – Dec. 4th). 

MORE: Full boys soccer schedule

Monday, Nov. 22
Brandon at Lafayette
Ocean Springs at Gulfport

Games of the Week 

Tuesday, Nov. 30
Clinton at Brandon

Thursday, Dec. 2
Northwest Rankin at Germantown

Other games to watch

Monday, Nov. 29
Oxford at Saltillo
Ocean Springs at St. Patrick 

Tuesday, Nov. 30
Desoto Central at Southaven
Olive Branch at Tupelo
Lewisburg at Hernando
Northeast Jones at West Jones
George County at Biloxi

Thursday, Dec. 2
Gulfport at St. Martin
Oxford at Starkville 

Friday, Dec. 3
Oxford at Center Hill
Desoto Central at Hernando 
Lewisburg at Northwest Rankin
Clinton at Warren Central
Long Beach at Ocean Springs

Saturday, Dec. 4
Starkville at Saltillo 
Lewisburg at Pearl
Clinton at Florence