Soccer fans got their first taste of Warren County Middle School soccer on a frigid Friday night that had many soccer fans wrapped from head to toe. It didn’t take long for last year’s defending conference champions to gain control.
WCMS exploded out of the gate with an aggressive offense and a quick defense, showing the Pioneers might be poised to make another run to the top of the conference. The DeKalb County Saints fell behind in the first half and WCMS extended its lead to 4-0.
The Pioneers would cruise to a preseason win, 5-1.
F.D. De Santiago for the Pioneers led the charge for his team against the Saints. He scored three goals.
WCMS controlled the ball from the opening kickoff and was clearly the aggressor.
The Pioneer defense prevented the Saints from crossing midfield on many attempts. When the Saints were fortunate enough to make it across midfield, any threat of scoring was snuffed out by the Pioneer defense.
DeKalb County had no shots on goal in the first period while the Pioneers shot six times.
Santiago showed off his supreme footwork and his precision passing skills. He also pulled the trigger from just outside the box on multiple occasions and WCMS took a 3-0 lead after the first.
In the second quarter, DeKalb County controlled the field and easily kept the ball on the WCMS side. The Saints did get a 1-on-1 breakaway with the Pioneer keeper. The shot was fired directly into the keeper, who was poised and ready for the save.
WCMS came around in the second half of the period and controlled the ball and the tempo just before the half. Brayden Chisam found the back of the Saints net as he fired a shot through traffic for the Pioneers only goal of the second quarter.
It was the only goal scored in six attempts by WCMS and the Pioneers led 4-0. DeKalb was held scoreless and only had three shots on goal the entire period. The Saints trailed at the half.
The third quarter was controlled for the first time by DeKalb County and for the first time in the match the Saints had more shots on goal than the Pioneers. The Saints second shot was fired like a missile and the Pioneer keeper went right at it and was able to deflect it away from the goal.
The Pioneers rallied late and shot three times without adding any points to the scoreboard before the period expired.
The final period was controlled by WCMS, although the Saints very first shot attempt on goal squeezed through a very small window. The Pioneer keeper dove and just missed the save with an outstretched hand. DeKalb trailed 4-1.
Moments later, WCMS moved the ball between Saint defenders almost effortlessly. On the Pioneers third shot attempt of the fourth period, Brayden Chisam blasted a shot from just inside the box and scored the final goal for WCMS.
The Pioneers had seven shots on goal while the Saints finished the fourth with only one for their only point of the game.
WCMS picked up the win in near-freezing temperatures by a final score of 5-1.
The first regular season home game for the Pioneers will be played March 8 versus Coffee County with the game scheduled to start at 6 p.m.