Notre Dame soccer shuts down Poplar Bluff 4-0, wins 11th straight in series

Notre Dame sophomore Andy Pederson fights the Poplar Bluff defender for the ball near the net on Tuesday, Oct. 8. The Bulldogs shut out the Mules 4-0.

Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com

While it’s been an up and down season for head coach Matt Vollink and his Notre Dame Bulldogs, the month of October has treated the reigning District 1 runners-up quite well.

Notre Dame put on a clinic behind four first-half goals to seal a 4-0 home win over Poplar Bluff in a frenzied district clash on a chilly Tuesday night at Notre Dame High School.

The victory marks the Bulldogs’ third straight win since Oct. 1 and 11th straight over Poplar Bluff (9-5-1) in the series.

“I think some of it has to do with finishing,” said Vollink on the team’s recent momentum. “In the beginning of the season, we were struggling with finishing, which is why we were at 0-8 at that point. And so now we're starting to click.”

Star senior Diego Chahin anchored Notre Dame’s (3-8) suffocating frontline attack in the early stages of action when the forward netted a tap-in goal off an Andy Pederson assist in the fifth minute to break the ice and put his team on top 1-0.

Notre Dame continued to press the Mules’ backline when sophomore Mark Schultz slotted in a beautiful goal from the arc off teammate Trenton Powell’s pass to push the lead to 2-0 and reward 20 minutes of total Bulldog control.

“Whenever you play a lot calmer and slower, and you're working to get numbers forward, then it allows you to have more people in the box,” Vollink said. “So, that first half we had good space out wide, but then we were moving forward as a unit.”

The bleeding did not stop on the Mules’ side.

The game was turned upside down before the interval as Poplar Bluff’s backline continued to crumble under pressure after conceding a pair of Bulldog goals from senior Connor Adams and junior Gary McMullan in the span of four minutes, handing a dominant Notre Dame side a thoroughly deserved 4-0 lead at the break.

Despite Poplar Bluff controlling possession for most of the final 40 minutes, it was a slow-burn second half with the home team’s poised defense keeping the Mules at arm's length.

Vollink was pleased with his side's effort in all 80 minutes of play.

“I just said after the game that they were a very good unit,” he said. “They were organized, they talked, and they moved well. Most of Poplar Bluff’s chances came from further out, which showed that they were very organized and disciplined in the back. That's all you can really asked for is that they stay as a team and they move as a block to help defend and make it hard to get through. And they did it really well.”

Vollink added that he is beginning to see his squad mesh more and more, while maintaining a sharp focus as the season progresses.

“One of the things is you don't want to look too far ahead,” he said. “You want to go game to game. That’s kind of one of the things that if you can keep building the team and building the guys, then they keep growing as a team. They get better. Then, all of a sudden, hopefully you're peaking at the right time.”

Notre Dame will return home and aim to extend its winning streak to four when the Bulldogs welcome Fredericktown on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 5 pm. Poplar Bluff will look to keep its District 1 title hopes intact this Thursday at Farmington for a 6:30 pm showdown.