The Columbia High School boys and girls soccer teams were eager to turn the tide after both suffered sizable losses to Pearl River Central, and they managed to do just that Dec. 6. Both teams were locked in offensively from start to finish against Perry Central, with the girls winning 3-1 and the boys following suit with a victory of 5-2.
Head coach Nick Roberts said the key to bouncing back after falling in 11-0 and 7-0 losses at PRC was maintaining the right perspective. Rather than getting down on themselves, he and his players chose to view the losses as a measuring stick to show just how much better they can become if they commit to putting in the work.
"Pearl River has a phenomenal soccer program, and what they have is what we want to establish here at Columbia," Roberts said. "I told our kids after the game that those teams are on the level that we're striving to reach, and if we work hard enough, one day we'll be where they are now. They responded well and worked really hard to get better results against Perry Central."
The Lady Wildcats (3-4) were led by seniors Kayla Buckley and Kathlynn Davis. Buckley, who led the team with three goals on the season entering the contest, scored her fourth to give Columbia an early advantage, and Davis scored twice down the stretch — bringing her season total even with Buckley at four — to help the Lady Wildcats pull away for a much-needed win in non-district play.
The underclassmen shined brightest for the Wildcats (3-3-1), who received goals from four different players in a dominant offensive display. Juniors Jose Banegas, Jacob Pace and Jaxon Martin each pitched in a goal while sophomore Myles Clark netted two goals as Columbia pulled away with ease for a 5-2 win.
Roberts said he was highly pleased with both performances and believes they came at an ideal time, as district play and the race for postseason positioning begin this week.
"At the end of the day, I thought our kids communicated really well, they passed the ball like I wanted to see, and they took a lot of shots," Roberts said. "We've worked hard on getting more aggressive when we have opportunities to score, and now those shots are starting to go in for us. Now our goal is to carry that over into district play and try to make a run."
Both teams traveled to McComb for their first district matchups Tuesday evening, but results were unavailable at press time. On Thursday, they'll travel to Summit for another district showdown against North Pike.
