The numbers don’t lie – the Wright City soccer team has seen plenty of improvement.
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The numbers don’t lie – the Wright City soccer team has seen plenty of improvement.
Not only was the team’s 1-0 loss to defending state champion Veritas Christian in a Class 2 District 4 quarterfinal likely easier to swallow than the team’s 4-0 defeat to the same team in early October, but the team’s final win-loss record also left the team with good feelings.
After all, Wright City (9-15) nearly doubled the positive results from last year’s five-win campaign.
Senior defender Thomas Wilgus said the change was easy to see within the program.
“Everybody’s played great,” Wilgus said. “I definitely saw growth in overall team chemistry and just how we act together as a team, rather than as individuals. We’ve all put so much effort into this.”
Wildcats Coach Tori Harris said the team chemistry was on full display against a state-championship-caliber team, and she felt good about how the season ended.
“We were extremely happy and proud with how we came out tonight,” Harris said. “I told them we were the underdogs and that’s fun sometimes. I don’t think Veritas expected us to be all over them as much as we were or to give them as much of a fight as we did. I’m super-proud of the boys; they didn’t quit.”
That never-say-die mindset served the Wildcats well this season.
Wright City had eight players who scored multiple goals this season, led by freshman Giannie Tiscareno’s 12 goals, three of which accounted for game-winners, to go along with a pair of assists.
Senior Benji Rodriguez (nine goals, two assists), Irvin Chavira-Munoz (5,3) and Wilgus (5, 5) also helped lead the offense.
Most importantly for senior defender Andrew Staats, the team’s defense stood tall this season, earning six of its nine wins via shutout. The team even earned the consolation championship at the Winfield Tournament with back-to-back shutout wins over Elsberry and Mexico.
“As a team, we went through so much,” Staats said. “We’ve helped each other and pushed each other out on the field. We worked hard in gaining each other’s trust. We worked hard this year because we all just wanted it.”
Harris said that, overall, she felt an atmosphere shift within the team and program this season.
It’s a feeling that already has her excited for next year.
“I think we’re continuing to grow every year, which is amazing,” Harris said. “We’re getting more players. Players are coming back. We are losing four seniors, but I think we’re just going to keep growing as long as we stay together as a team and do stuff in the offseason. This is a step forward.”
Staats said that, for his part, he’s proud of the culture he and his fellow seniors have helped to build.
“There are so many guys who look up to guys like Thomas (Wilgus), me and the other seniors and they know they’ve got some big shoes to fill going forward,” Staats said. “They know they’re going to have to work hard to continue this (momentum) next year. It’s their turn."
