Both MSMS soccer teams faced off against the West Point Green Waves last Tuesday, Nov. 19 at the Columbus Soccer Complex downtown.

The Lady Waves beat West Point 6-1, and the Blue Waves also won 6-0.

Lady Waves co-captain Tierah Macon led the team with three goals. Junior Amanda Anderson added a goal and an assist, and juniors Ashley Mungus and Emily Berry scored one goal each. Co-captain Taylor Willis also add an assist.

“We built on lessons learned in our earlier matches,” Lady Waves coach Chuck Yarborough said. “Our communication was solid, and I’m pleased with our increasing pace in possession. It was also great to see a senior leader like Tierah earn her first hat trick.”

This game set a positive mood for the team and raised hopes for the remainder of their season.

“The team is getting better and better with each game,” Macon said. “Of course, everyone makes mistakes, but we are starting to work better as a team. The win against West Point was great for boosting spirits after last [week’s losses] and great practice for games to come. We were able to implement and perfect the fundamental skills that will come in handy in tougher matches.”

“With only a few games under our belt, I can already see us improving,” Anderson said. “Last night, we got too comfortable with West Point, but we still worked toward a win. I am definitely very proud of our progress, and I am excited to see what we can accomplish.”

The girls improved to a 2-2-1 record for the season.

While the Lady Waves continue to make progress, the Blue Waves are stepping up their game as well.

Junior Cameron Wright led with three goals, and junior Trevor Allen added a goal with three assists. Junior Tejus Kotikalapudi and senior Collin Jeck each scored a goal, and senior Josiah “JoJo” Kaler had an assist.

“I was happy overall with the way we finished,” head coach Tim Wood said. “We definitely played with more intensity and demonstrated our values much better in the second half. This match gives us good momentum going in our district match Thursday.”

Some team members, however, felt the team did not go into the game with the same mentality as usual, but they prevailed nonetheless. Many hope to perform better in their next game.

“While the score reflected that we did well as a team, we saw some areas where we could improve,” Wright said. “Something that our coach noticed along with our players was that we didn’t approach the game with the intensity we showed against St. Andrews [last week]. We were able to correct this more in the second half of the game, and I’m hoping we can take the energy there and use it for playing Philadelphia.”

“The team gets better every day, but that game should have ended in mercy rule, not 6-0,” Blue Waves captain Dylan Johnson said. “I’m expecting more effort in the match against Philadelphia as we did not play at our fullest in [Tuesday’s] match.”

The boys’ season record is now at 1-3.

MSMS will host the Philadelphia Tornadoes Thursday, Nov. 21 in their second Class 1 Region 4 match of the season.