If shots off the top bar counted as points, West Jones soccer could have tallied double-digits.
But they don’t, and it didn’t matter. West Jones comfortably defeated Poplarville 5-2 on the pitch in boys’ soccer Tuesday night in Soso.
“Coming in I knew we needed to play well,” said West Jones head coach Josh Sullivan. “Especially coming into this weekend’s tournament and district play around the counter.
“We checked out Poplarville’s schedule this week, and they’ve played some of the same team’s we have and had similar results. So we expected this game to be a good matchup. And it was. They’re a really good team with a lot of speed. I’m proud of our guys from top to bottom.”
Despite missing several close shots in the first half, at least four clipping the top bar and soaring out of play, West Jones lasered three shots into the back of the net for points.
Minutes after coming off the bench early in the match, junior midfielder Walker Thompson put West Jones on the board with a right-to-left shot in the 17th minute.
Two sophomores, forward Braxton Rustin and midfielder Reynaldo Navarro, added goals nearly two minutes apart in the 27th and 29th minute.
Poplarville answered just before the half. Senior midfielder Alan Holiday’s goal under the two-minute mark in the first half narrowed West Jones’ lead, 3-1.
In the offseason, Sullivan played to his team’s strength by changing the formation it runs.
“We graduated several defenders last season,” Sullivan said. “It felt us short staffed in the back [on defense], but we developed some guys in the midfield and changed up our formation to help us out.
“We play our personnel and what makes us strong. We didn’t want to run our old formation that we’ve run for years and not be as apt to finish complete games. We’re now able to sub some people out, and that helps us to stay strong.”
West Jones finished strong Tuesday night, outscoring Poplarville 2-1 in the second half to win its sixth game of the season, 5-2.
Sophomore forward Luis Ramirez netted back-to-back goals (49th and 52nd minute) in the second half as West Jones improved to 6-3-1.
“It’s nice to have a group of guys that want to win,” said Sullivan. “Not just to get on the field and kick the ball long. Our guys want to learn and adapt. And when it works out, like it did tonight, it helps the vibe of our team. If we do what we are supposed to do, it’s going to work and look good.”
Junior midfielder David Gray added Poplarville’s final goal in the 58th minute.
Poplarville boys fall to 4-4-1 on the season.
Girls Game
West Jones girls scored five goals in the first half Tuesday night en route to a 6-0 win over Poplarville.
Sophomore forward Kaylee Chennault led West Jones with two goals.
Bailey James, Katie Beth Sumrall, Bri Carr and Lizbeth Oliveras also added goals.
West Jones girls improve to 7-3-1 on the season. Poplarville falls to 3-4-2.
