The Waynesville boys soccer team hosted the Willard Tigers on a warm Ozark evening. From the opening whistle Willard was aggressive on the attack playing with 3 attackers. It took the early part of the game for Waynesville to adjust to Willards formation and quick counter attack. Fortunately Willard was unable to capitalize on several quality opportunities. The tide turned for the home team when freshmen Faheem Mujahid earned his first career goal in the Waynesville uniform as he placed a quality shot past the keeper with the assist from Darien Grosvenor. The goal gave the boys some much needed confidence after struggling to find offensive rhythm in the first few games. For the remainder of the half the Waynesville Tigers control the pace of play created several good scoring chances from playing the width of the pitch and committing to crashing the box as the ball was delivered in. Nate Taylor added to the 1st half tally with a beautiful strike to the lower right corner as bounced around in the 18 yard box before finding his foot. Martin Medrano, who was in top form all week during training, add a much deserved 3rd goal at the 30 min mark. Medrano tapped in a perfectly played pass from the right side by Justin Wilbur after he worked hard to keep the ball in bounds around the Willard defense.

Waynesville continued the strong form of play in the 2nd half, but couldn’t find the final touch to add to the night’s tally. Willard continued to work hard as they threaten on the counter attack. With 14 minutes remaining Willard’s number 23 hit a tremendous shot from 25 yards out that rang of the bottom of the cross bar and bounced in. Isaac Swanson continued to play superbly as he made several big saves to ensure Waynesville remained in control of the game. The team is beginning to play to their full potential and saw good offense against a quality opponent. Next Week will prove to be a difficult test for a maturing team as they go on the road to West Plains and Union on Monday and Tuesday, and host Camdenton Lakers on Thursday. Hope to see a large crowd support the team as they face their Ozark rival.

The Waynesville JV remained undefeated with a 5-0 victory over Willard JV. The JV took control of the pitch early and prevented Willard from being a threat on the offensive half. The team generated lots of quality chances on the night.