Lady Owl opponents have only gotten seven of 19 shoot-out tries past senior goalkeeper Xochitl Ruiz, who stopped six such attempts by Fulton for her seventh shutout of the season. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

The Marshall girls' soccer team may be challenged offensively when the ball is in play, but it sure knows how to find the net when the clock isn't running.

The Lady Owls went through two scoreless overtime periods Tuesday, sending their NCMC home match against Fulton into a shoot-out. For the fourth time in as many tries, Marshall won on penalty kicks, 1-0.

"We continue to claw and fight our way to wins," remarked MHS head coach Josh Posegate.

The match was evenly played, with the Lady Owls holding a slim 8-6 advantage in shots on goal, six attempted by junior Vicky Renderos. But both Lady Hornets senior Haley Wilfley and Marshall senior Xochitl Ruiz were strong in the net, turning aside all attacks.

Fulton scored first in the shoot-out, while the Lady Owls missed their first three shots. Finally, freshman Shelby McCoy and Ruiz connected, while the Lady Hornets missed three in a row before squaring matters.

It went rounds before the stalemate could be broken. Both teams made their seventh attempts, freshman Liz Hood connecting for Marshall. Sophomore Sara Willis' goal wasn't matched by Fulton (3-9-1, 0-5 NCMC), giving the win to the Lady Owls.

Marshall (10-5-2, 5-2) has hit 50 percent of its shoot-out kicks this season, while Ruiz has stopped opponents on 12 of 19 attempts.

"We've had some younger players step up in the absence of some older players," Posegate said -- noting only 13 players got on the pitch for his team against Fulton and a handful of seniors weren't available last weekend for the Camdenton Tournament. "It has been a good experience for them."

The Lady Owls will be at home Saturday for a league match against Kirksville.

Baseball

Helias 9, Marshall 5

JEFFERSON CITY -- By the time the Marshall baseball team began hitting Tuesday, it was down by nine runs and unable to make up the gap during a 9-5 non-conference loss to Helias at Jefferson City.

The pitching-thin Owls turned to sophomore Lucas Hart to make his first varsity start, and he turned in a credible performance by allowing only four earned runs. He gave up seven hits -- among a run-scoring double in the first inning to senior Cole Stegeman and RBI singles by senior Curtis Vaughan in the second and junior Brad Lorang in the fourth -- and walked seven, but may have kept the score down if not for two run-producing errors.

Senior Jared Porter pitched two and a third innings of scoreless relief while Marshall cut into the deficit.

The Crusaders (12-5) helped out with two errors in the three-run fifth, senior Kodi Phillips singling in a run. Senior Andrew Bridges knocked in the first of two runs in the sixth with a base hit.

The Owls (5-11) are scheduled to play their last home game of the season Thursday, a Senior Night tilt against Knob Noster.

Boys' Tennis

Fulton 10, Marshall 2

FULTON -- The Marshall boys' tennis team began the season with seven straight wins, but a combination of a tough non-conference schedule and improvement among NCMC clubs has it reeling under seven losses in a row.

Fulton beat the Owls for the second time this season Tuesday, 10-2, winning five of six tilts in both singles and doubles. Sophomore Ethan Murphy recorded Marshall's lone singles win at No. 5, 11-9, and the No. 6 doubles team of senior Matt Hockaday and sophomore Mark Fry claimed a 10-6 decision.

Some of the singles matches were close, such as 10-8 losses by junior Mac Evans at No. 2 and sophomore Brandon Mullins at No. 6.

Sophomores Rick Schulenberg and Jason Hadley gave the Hornets (12-3, 4-1 NCMC) a 10-8 contest at No. 4 doubles.

"I can see our guys getting stronger through this very tough schedule and their strong spirit is intact," remarked MHS head coach Susan Carney. "Nobody is ever giving it up before the last point."

The Owls (7-7, 1-3) are on the road again today with a match at Jefferson City.