The collapse in Missouri Military Academy’s Thursday game happened quick.

The Colonels blinked and were down 2-1 to Fulton after shutting out the Hornets in the first half and eventually lost 5-2 for the team’s third straight loss against Fulton. Luke Holland led the Hornets with a hat trick — accounting for their first three goals in the half — and Gorka Yarte and Lucas Almeida each scored a goal for MMA, giving Almeida four goals in two games after his hat trick Tuesday against Kirksville.

Head coach Eliot Goodwin said the Colonels had the Hornets right where they wanted them defensively as Fulton averaged six goals in its first three games this season. MMA unraveled about as quick as Fulton’s offense.

“We started the second half a little bit slow,” Goodwin said. “When it was back level at 2-2, we did well to get there. We just kind of ran out of steam. To be fair, they had a couple good players that exploited our weaknesses there.”

MMA went into halftime up 1-0 after Gorka Yarte booted it in from the edge of the goalie box. Yarte had a couple of wide shots in the first half as well, making Goodwin think the Colonels could have had a bigger advantage, but did well on offense.

“He’s good in and around the box, striking and hitting the target,” Goodwin said. “I’d like him to get more goals in those areas but did well tonight. I think the energy and passion he showed throughout the game led us pretty well, and he did well as one of the captains.”

For a little more than 40 minutes, everything was going to plan as MMA was being physical with Fulton and not allowing many balls to get past its back line. Players such as Kellan Mugisha, Ethan Hersh and Marco Afane were involved in the foot scrums for possession or had a body part in the Hornets’ passing lanes downfield.

“That was part of trying to close them down,” Goodwin said. “We know of them from previous years. We know what they’re about. The game plan was to shut it down defensively, be physical, maintain our discipline, start with a high intensity and limit their chances.”

Three minutes into the second half, the freshman Holland was able to handle the ball in open space and converted on a cross-field kick from the right side to tie the game at 1. Four minutes later, Holland ran down a loose ball, beating defender Avin Hernandez and goalkeeper Diego Pineda to give Fulton a 2-1 lead.

After Almeida tied the game on a penalty kick in the 53rd minute, Holland and the Hornets let only a minute run off the clock before taking back the lead. Jayden Ayers gave Fulton its second goal in as many minutes on a penalty kick and reigning all-state player Christian Mahoro finally scored in the 75th minute, making Pineda pay for leaving the net to play the ball.

“(Holland) was a good player,” Goodwin said. “We’ve seen it and know they’ve scored goals this year and haven’t conceded too many. With players like that, they’re always going to be dangerous. They had speed as well.

“(Fulton on defense) is settled very well,” Goodwin said. “They eliminated our chances — shut them down very quickly — and they’ve got some solid bodies back there. They do well to connect that back line into their midfield and create chances going forward.”

Almeida hat trick gives MMA OT win vs Kirksville

Lucas Almeida was already the go-to guy for Missouri Military Academy’s home opener Tuesday night.

Almeida had two goals against Kirksville before MMA went into an overtime period tied at 2. He completed his hat trick to give the Colonels a 3-2 victory to begin its home schedule and its second win in a row.

MMA was down 2-0 at halftime so head coach Eliot Goodwin said Almeida had a “phenomenal night,” but the team was needed to climb back in the game and eventually win it.

“Almeida has been great for us this year and hopefully this kicks him on another level for us,” Goodwin said. “It’s always tough to be behind 2-0 at half, but it takes every effort from every player to turn the game around. I’m proud of our fight and our efforts and the way we stood up in the face of adversity.”

MMA junior varsity won 2-0 behind goals from Sebastian Rocha and Enock Runazi to move to a 3-0 record.

MMA plays at Canton on Tuesday before hosting Elsberry the next day.

Cross country

MMA wins first home cross country meet

There wasn’t a better way to finish Missouri Military Academy’s first cross country meet.

The Colonels won the high school team competition behind first- and second-place finishes from Bryson Powell and Gerardo Quiroga and three others cracking the top 10. MMA had six top-10 runners in the middle school race, led by winner Kamil Sanchez and runner-up Joshua Miller.

Powell’s winning time was 17:07.90, which was more than a minute faster than Quiroga’s time of 18:46.13. Albert Ogutu, Alex Snyder and Michael Pfeifer rounded out the Colonels in the top 10 with respective placings of fourth, sixth and ninth.

Mexico ran in the high school event that also involved Boonville, racking up three top-10 finishers. Christian Frederickson took the Bulldogs’ top spot with a fifth-place time of 20:31.43. Jacob Quinlan and Carter Nading rounded out the Mexico runners in the top 10 with seventh- and 10th-place finishes, respectively.

Swimming and diving

Colonels finish third at Smith-Cotton meet

Missouri Military Academy finally got in the water Wednesday.

MMA swimming and diving finished third behind Hickman and Rock Bridge at Smith-Cotton in its first meet of the season. Its two Brazilian swimmers — Tiago Ruas Deluca and Paulo Pereira De Abreu Donnabella — had a good first showing as Deluca won the 100-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle while Donabella was second in the 100-yard breaststroke and third in the 200-yard individual medley.

The pair also did well in the relays as MMA’s team as they, Anthony Melick and Malachi Imrie finished second in the 200-yard medley relay and third in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Melick took home a couple of second-place finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke and in a tie for the 50-yard freestyle.

MMA hosts a tri meet on Tuesday before going to Hickman on Wednesday.