The MSMS soccer teams faced swept the Columbus High School Falcons last Tuesday, Dec. 3.

The Lady Waves beat the Falcons 1-0, with Co-captain Tierah Macon scoring a goal on an assist from Co-captain Taylor Willis. Goalkeepers Emily Berry and Amyria Kimble preserved the shutout with four saves each.

“After the week-long break, we struggled to gain our rhythm against a much-improved Columbus side,” head coach Chuck Yarborough said.  “It was great to see our senior co-captains combine for the winning goal, and the goalkeepers did a great job combining for the clean sheet.  We’ll work to build on tonight as we prepare for our district match up on the road Friday.”

Reflecting on her collaboration with Macon to score, Willis emphasized the importance of working together on the field.

“Soccer is solely a teamwork game,” Willis said. “It’s impossible for a single player to dribble down the field to the goal on their own, especially when the opposing team plays aggressively.”

The Lady Waves have improved to a 4-2-1 record for the season.

Meanwhile, the Blue Waves defeated Columbus 3-2. Junior Trevor Allen led scorers with two goals, and junior Jeremiah Hunt added a goal and an assist. Junior Evan Bridges had an assist, and goalkeeper Nathan Lechner had eight saves.

“It was a phenomenal effort for our guys tonight,” head coach Tim Wood said. “We were short-handed and still able to fight hard against a very good and athletic Columbus team.  I was proud of how we held them off in the second half, even though momentum started to shift in their favor. It says so much about the character and grit of our boys that we were able to withstand that and then really dominate the last 15 minutes to score the game-winner.”

“The team did well overall. At the beginning of the second half we lost focus, but we were able to come back from it,” Allen said. “We all pushed through and got the dub.”

Like the Lady Waves, the team is ready to gear up for the next match.

“Obviously, it was very exciting and we’re proud of how hard we worked for it. Tomorrow we’ll start preparing for a crucial district game on Friday,” Wood said.

The Blue Waves improved to 3-3.

Both teams return to a Class 1 Region 4 play at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Madison on Friday. The girls kick off at 5:30 p.m., and the boys at 7:30 p.m.