BELLVILLE — The future of Madison soccer was on display Friday at the Colt Corral.
Freshman forward Randy Jamieson scored his first two career goals and fellow freshman Joey Walker added another as the Rams rallied for a 4-2 win over short-handed Clear Fork in the season opener.
Clear Fork played without three starters, but still managed to build a 2-0 lead midway through the first half. The Colts took a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute on shifty forward Connor Hauger’s one-timer after a steal in front of the Madison net. Clear Fork extended the lead to 2-0 on Bryson Shaffner goal with 18:21 remaining in the first half.
The Rams got on the board nine minutes later when Jamieson collected a rebound and scored with 9:31 to play in the opening half.
“On the bus ride I had butterflies,” Jamieson said. “I’m still not even processing what I just did. It’s kind of crazy.”
Jamieson scored the equalizer early in the second half before Walker scored what proved to be the game-winner with 28:17 remaining in the match. The ball pin-balled in the box before Walker settled it and knock it into the back of the net.
“We’ve got a very skilled freshman class,” veteran Madison coach Tim Lord said. “It’s encouraging to think I’ve got four years with these guys.”
Senior Kaleb Prosser scored Madison’s final goal as time expired.
“For us to be down and come back was huge,” Lord said. “It’s encouraging going into to our next game.”
Clear Fork coach Nate Gailey knew his Colts would have their hands full without their full complement of players.
“I was worried about getting gassed,” Gailey said. “We were down three starters.
“Without having them available … it really kind of hurt what we were trying to do.”
Despite the loss, Gailey liked what he saw from Hauger. The junior assisted on Shaffner’s goal.
“We knew, without some of our pieces, they were going to find him out pretty quick,” Gailey said. “It didn’t take them long to figure it out.
“He had to play a little more selfish than he normally would have, but that gave us our best chance. He knows what he’s doing with the ball at his feet.”
Madison had lost the previous two meetings to Clear Fork.
“We knew we were going to be underdogs,” Jamieson said.
While the loss was disappointing for the Colts, Gailey isn’t ready to panic just yet.
“That was the message to them after the game,” Gailey said. “It’s not a conference game. (The loss) doesn’t hurt anything we want to do. There’s still 16 more games to go. It’s a long season.”
