While most soccer teams find an early deficit daunting, the Wright City boys soccer team viewed it as a much needed wake-up call. 

Though they trailed by a goal 20 minutes into the game, the Wildcats fired back for a commanding 6-1 win over Liberty Christian on Sept. 15. 

“Honestly, it picked us up in a sense because I felt like we were sluggish to start and that goal woke us up,” Wright City junior Jonathan Windmann said. 

Liberty Christian’s Tommy Meyer opened up the match with a 40-yard left footed hook into the upper corner. But a few minutes was all Wright City needed to pick it up. 

Four minutes after the Eagles’ goal, Windmann slotted a ball into the back of the net to tie it up. Another eight minutes later, he struck again. This time, a tap-in, off of Irving Chavira Munoz’s shot that deflected off of the Eagles’ keeper to put the Wildcats’ up 2-1 at halftime. 

“The quick one, two passes and the through balls we were making – it’s been night and day from last year,” Windmann said. 

That momentum rolled into the second half. 

Within three minutes, Wright City scored three goals. One by Windmann to round out a hat trick, one by Tony Cortes-Valencia and an own goal that Cortes-Valencia pressured the defense into making. Lastly, Clayton Kennon closed out the game for Wright City. 

“After halftime, we moved one of our wing backs (Cortes-Valencia) up top and he put on a show for us up there,” Wright City coach Victoria Harris said. “I told them we needed to come out strong those first five minutes and they did that.” 

Harris noted despite the slow start, she opted to let her team play through it rather than make immediate tactical changes. 

“We came out a little slower than what we were wanting, so we just wanted to see what they could do and then they were able to start knocking the ball around,” Harris said. “We were trying to be too technical on our own at first, but we started switching the field and we weren’t afraid of shooting the ball.” 

Windmann noted the game helped the team fix mistakes that were made in past games. 

“We were more clinical today and that was a problem against Elsberry. We had a lot of shots but we didn’t finish. Today we were finishing,” he said. “For me, I was getting a little less in my head and just placing the ball more instead of hitting a power shot.” 

For Liberty Christian coach Ken Dildine, he was proud of his team’s efforts, especially since it played a bigger and more competitive school. 

“We fought long and hard. We have sixth graders going against juniors and seniors and the stuff that they did was pretty incredible in my eyes,” Dildine said. “They were the better team and they proved it but it was a good testament for the kids.” 

Dildine noted his team needs to work on better mental strength as a whole. 

“There were some frustrations and a couple of boys wanting to come out, but that’s not how you build and grow emotionally strong so that’s why they never did come out,” Dildine said. 

Dildine said his team moved the ball better in the second half, but Wright City’s quick three goals made it hard for his team to recover. 

“When they dropped those first three, I think they realized it was going to be a tough obstacle but they never gave up,” Dildine said. “Luke Meyer probably had one of the best games he’s ever had and my defense, other than those first three minutes, were solid.” 

Dildine also highlighted the unwavering perseverance of his goalkeeper Malcolm Geeding. 

“They had a lot of shots on (Geeding) but he kept moving and kept going. It’s very hard to do that as an eighth grader,” Dildine said. “All in all, we played our hearts out today.”