For the game’s first 10 minutes on Monday, the Wright City boys’ soccer team appeared stuck in neutral.

That slow start didn’t last long, however, as the host Wildcats picked things up and rolled to an 8-0 win over visiting Liberty Christian.

Junior Benji Rodriguez said that the team could feel the tide turn after the opening 15 minutes.

“It felt great because we could all tell that our energy was down at the start,” Rodriguez said. “We had a few good plays after some guys were subbed in and that picked up the energy. As we went into halftime, into the locker room, we knew we could be playing much better than that. We knew we weren’t playing at our best and we still had more to give, so we went out and gave it.”

As the Wildcats became the aggressors, freshman Giannie Tiscareno got the team on the board midway through the half.

What followed were two more goals in the first half and five in the second as the Wildcats rolled.

Wright City Coach Tori Harris said that win won’t just add a number on the positive side of the win-loss ledger; it should do a lot psychologically for the team.

“I’m hoping this is a confidence boost,” Harris said. “I know we have it in us, it’s about trying to pull it out of them. We’ve really had some tough games at the beginning of the season, and we’re trying to get healthy, too. This was a good one.”

After Tiscareno, Wright City got a pair of goals from Rodriguez, two from senior Thomas Wilgus and one each from senior Andrew Staats, sophomore Clayton Kennon and junior Irving Chavira-Munoz.

Tiscareno, Rodriguez (a pair), Staats, Chavira-Munoz, sophomore Erick Gregorio-Lopez, Wilgus and freshman Kamden Lichtenstein each provided assists.

Senior Joseph Hall earned the shutout in goal.

Eagles Coach Ken Dildine said that he did see some positive things from Liberty Christian (2-4-1) and the team’s sophomore goalkeeper, Malcolm Geeding.

“Our defense did really well, too,” Dildine said. “When you play big schools like this, you’ve got to (work hard). Their senior class is probably bigger than our whole school. We’ve got injuries we’ve got to overcome, which we will. Malcolm did a fantastic job out there.”

Up next, Wright City will host Fulton today (Thursday) at 4:30 p.m.

“I really think we are heading in the right direction, we can go out and play our way and win some games,” Tiscareno said. “We’re playing together and we’re getting healthier. This should give us a chance to play our game.”

Liberty Christian will head to Heritage Christian for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff tomorrow.