Waynesville found the back of the net three times in the second half and outlasted Williard  5-3 in a hard fought back-and-forth soccer game Thursday night at Anderson Field.  Forwards Caleb Rodriguez and Daniel Sesay each scored twice in the non-conference win.  

Willard, with last year’s shootout loss to WHS  probably on its mind, opened the  scoring just 2:48 into the game, but Rodriguez tied the score about four minutes later when he caught Joey Cartwright’s corner kick on his chest and bumped it across the line. Willard came right back just 1:19 later off a loose ball out of the goalkeeper’s hands.  The 2-1 Willard lead held up for 23 minutes.  That’s when another Cartwright  corner kick escaped the Willard keeper’s grasp to make it 2-2 at halftime.

Sesay had fought for some good possessions in the first half, but his speed ultimately wore down Willard’s defenders after the break. He put WHS ahead to stay in the fifth minute when he collected a loose ball with his back to the goal near the left post. He calmly turned sharply and placed the ball just inside the post for the score.  He then assisted Rodriguez seven minutes later.  After Willard closed to within 4-3 Sesay collected a nice through ball from Rodriguez to score the final goal.  

Waynesville is off until next week when it returns to Ozark Conference action, playing at West Plains on Tuesday and returning home to face Camdenton on Thursday.