The Wright City Wildcats used two goals in the first half to defeat Liberty Christian last week.
Wright City (2-0) won their season opener against Liberty Christian (1-2). Wright City won the game 2-0.
Freshman Paige Rees scored the first goal of the game in the eighth minute. Hannah Kendall scored in the 36th minute to extend the Wildcat lead. No goals were scored in the second half.
Wright City coach Devin Raney believes Rees’ goal in the first 10 minutes of the game helped the team’s confidence. They were able to control the game and not worry about playing from behind the rest of the game, he said.
“I think scoring that first goal gives us confidence. Especially the younger girls going forward,” Raney said. “I had five girls that were underclassmen starting out there…I think that starting it off with a goal right in the first 10 minutes definitely gets our confidence up.”
Raney was happy with how the Wildcats played in the game. However, there are some things they want to clean up, he said.
“We had a lot of really good connections with each other,” Raney said. “We acted a little timid putting the ball on goal. It was a good goalie that we were facing and we didn’t put nearly as many balls on net as we should have. I think I just chalk that up to being game one. Overall, I liked how everyone was able to get in and contribute.”
One of the challenges Liberty Christian presented to Wright City was the distance Liberty Christian goalie Adison Roden could kick the ball, Raney said. Raney was proud of how the Wildcats handled this challenge.
“You saw their goalie had a huge foot,” Raney said. “Sometimes, their goalie was punting it and our goalie was racing to it. So it was that sort of thing that we need to win balls in the air and not let balls bounce. And then try to win them after that. I was really proud of the girls to be able to come to the ball instead of letting the ball come to them.”
Raney also was happy with the team’s conditioning level for the first game of the season. He believes any of the players could have played the full 80 minutes if asked to do so, he said.
“That was kind of a weak point for us last year,” Raney said. “And kind of going into this year, just in general, we’ve put an emphasis on it. Just being able to go a full 80 if we ask you to.”
Liberty Christian got off to a slow start in Friday’s game, coach Zack Banze conceded. They did not have a single practice last week due to the weather, he said. They had games Monday and Friday last week. The players were also out of their element with last week being the school’s Spring Break, he added.
Both coaches said the strong wind gusts affected their strategy.
“It impacts a lot of things,” Banze said. “Especially coming from the goal, you have to play the ball differently. It’s not going to travel as far. When it hits the ground, that ball’s going to bounce. There was a few times it bounced in the air. You saw it moving sideways. I don’t think that’s supposed to happen.”
Banze is happy with where Liberty Christian is at early in the season. They defeated Eagle Ridge Christian last week to win their first game of the season. Banze continues to see the team improve, he said.
“We’re coming along great,” Banze said. “You can see the progress. We’re getting more comfortable controlling the ball. We’re starting to make better passes and understand our positioning a little better.”
Wright City beat Mexico 5-2 Monday to remain unbeaten.
Wright City has a pair of home games in the next week. They will face Fulton High School Friday. They faced St. Clair High School Wednesday.
Liberty Christian is scheduled to play at Eagle Ridge Christian Thursday. They are scheduled to play at Christian Fellowhip Tuesday.