Sikeston picks up fourth win of season against Blackcats

SIKESTON-- The Sikeston Bulldog soccer team outlasted the Fredericktown Blackcats in a defensive struggle Monday night to claim their fourth win of the year 1-0 at the Sikeston Complex.

The game was all defense for 74 minutes, until Mikey Botkin was able to score off an assist from Darin Dicus.

"I was waiting on the ball and Darin (Dicus) fed it right to me and I shot at just the right moment and it went in," Botkin said after Monday's victory.

Botkin feels that the team is moving in a positive direction.

"We are starting to step it up," he said. "I feel things are going a lot better for us, hopefully we can continue to win and be successful."

Sikeston(4-14) head coach Derrick Long was pleased with Monday's outcome, but continues to look for ways to improve.

"We did not finish as well as we would have liked to tonight," Long said. "We had a lot more scoring opportunities that we didn't take advantage of. The goal seems to get smaller for us that the other team. At halftime, we made some adjustments to exploit a weakness on their (Fredericktown's) perimeter. We tried it five or six times and we were finally able to make it work for us."

Blackcats (3-13) head coach Eric Thompson said Monday's game boiled down to execution.

"They (Sikeston) are a pretty good team," Thompson said, "I don't think any one thing went wrong for us. Sikeston was just able to execute and capitalize on a good opportunity and got the win."

Long noted that the drive and intensity of his squad has increased after a team discussion of the Bulldogs rough start to the season.

"We had to address what it takes to win and the intensity and effort we need to be successful," Long said. "We talked to our guys about all that a couple of weeks ago and we have seen a big improvement since then. Any team could have gave up after the rough start we had this season. But these guys have a lot of pride and will keep fighting."

Long and Sikeston will look to keep their two game win streak alive against Perryville tonight.

"This is two wins in a row," Long said. "We are 2-0 in our 'new' season. We have another revenge game against Perryville, who beat us earlier in the season, tomorrow. We are just trying to keep the blinders on as we head toward districts."

Monday's junior varsity contest ended in a 1-1 tie.

The game will begin at 6 p.m tonight at the Sikeston Complex.