The Warrenton and Wright City boys soccer teams met again for the second time this season in a Warren County rivalry game. While the Wildcats had the momentum in the first half and put up the first goal, Warrenton’s Isaac Wagner buried the lead with three goals in the second half. Warrenton walked away with a 5-1 win over Wright City on Oct. 14. 

“Isaac is one of the leaders in goals in our area. He’s been playing outstanding and finishing around the goal when he needs to,” Warrenton Head Coach John Schulte said. “We’re hoping he can continue the goal scoring ways.”

Wagner currently has scored 37 goals this season. 

Both teams were tied 1-1 at halftime, but the Warriors were able to break through and cement their seven-game winning streak. Wagner also scored 16 seconds into the second half to put the Warriors in a leading position. 

“Second half, we settled down. We started to make passes, kids started running on and we started capitalizing on those opportunities right in front of the goal,” Schulte said. 

Schulte noted it was a tough game, especially in the first half. At halftime, the coach stressed the importance of calming down and playing their game after enduring a half of not being able to string as many passes together and letting nerves creep up. 

He said the biggest thing was being able to finish opportunities, which they were unable to do in the first half. 

“I think we came out and thought we were going to get some goals right away and it didn’t happen, so it threw them aside a little bit,” Schulte said. “Wright City came out and they were playing really tough, really aggressive and giving it everything they had and it was tough.”

The two teams met earlier in the season, with Warrenton walking away with a 11-1 win. However, in their first matchup, key players from Wright City were missing due to ACT testing. 

Despite the loss, Wright City Head Coach Eric Deal touted his team for not letting up.

“We had the Elsberry game the other night and I really got on to my players about staying in the game, covering their man, being a little bit more physical. Not cheap, but physical and the importance of marking their man,” Deal said. “And you could see that towards the end there.” 

Deal noted that losing one of his defenders early on in the game due to an injury made the game a little different, but also fatigue due to the lack of depth in the bench. 

“Overall, it was a great game. We had a couple, two or three, close ones, but didn’t quite get there, but we’ll get there soon,” Deal said. 

Deal touted some of the underclassmen for stepping up throughout the game. He noted they were covering their man, sprinting back when Warrenton was on the offense, getting the ball out of the air and making good passes. 

“These are things that I’ve been driving home to them over and over. This is how we have to play the game and it’s starting to set in,” Deal said. 

The Warriors will play again at home on Oct. 21 against Veritas at 6:30 p.m. Wright City will play at home next on Oct. 24 agaisnt St. Charles at 4:30 p.m.