Kosciusko, well-rested from its 11-day layoff, picked up its second win of the year last week in boys soccer action.
The Whippets shut out Winona 6-0 last Tuesday and dropped a 1-0 contest against Class 6A Pearl last Friday.
A strong-willed offensive attack led the way for the Whippets against Winona. Billy Paul Russell secured a hat trick with his three goals, and he added an assist. Kosciusko coaches awarded him with the game ball for his performance. John Marc Sims, Cody Pope and Will Carter tallied one goal apiece.
While the Whippets dropped their late-week match against the Pirates, Kosciusko (2-5) Coach Greg Cooper was pleased with his team’s effort against the higher-classification competition.
Kosciusko goalkeeper Erubiel Garcia tallied 14 saves against the Pirates and received his team’s game ball.
“It was a good week,” Kosciusko coach Greg Cooper said. “Whenever you can compete, especially against a 6A school such as Pearl and come away 1-0, you’re doing things and you’re building what you want to build. I thought it was a good test. They brought some similarities to what we’ll see in district play, and that’s what we talked about. I thought our kids, once they realized those similarities, we saw a change in our attitude. We made some adjustments at halftime, and they really played a strong second half. We had opportunities, we just couldn’t put them away.”
Kosciusko was to travel to Northwest Rankin on Tuesday.
LADY WHIPPETS
The Kosciusko (1-5-1) girls earned their first win on the year with an 8-0 win against Winona last Tuesday.
Raven Parnell recorded a hat trick behind a three-goal performance against the Tigers. Mary Patton Henderson also had a multi-score game as she netted two goals.
Lanna Nunley, Annaleigh Bain and Anna Catherine Cheek each recorded goals.
Pearl shut out the Lady Whippets with a 7-0 win last Friday. Kosciusko goalkeeper Alexandra West recorded 28 saves and was awarded the team game ball.
“I feel playing that competition and learning what they’re learning, they still picked up some valuable lessons in that Pearl game,” Cooper said. “Winona was their first victory of the season, and I think that boosted them a little bit. It was a good overall game. We saw good passing; we saw good communication. Better commitment out of everybody against different positions. We kind of did the same thing we did with the boys – we jumbled them up and tried to figure it out… We kind of reset the lineup and put some people in some new spots and had some good stuff happen there.” Whippets pick up second soccer win of season.
