Conditions didn’t favor the player at all on Wednesday as storms left many soccer fields underwater in Columbus.
One of those just so happened to be Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science’s home field, moving its second-round MHSAA Class I playoff game to Columbus High School.
The mud might have made things tougher, but MSMS and Pisgah made a game out of it, a competitive battle that was decided in the final minutes of play.
In the end, a great cross into the box from Sawyer Levenson found teammate Sebastian Harvey, who headed it into the back of the net as the Blue Waves advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in program history with a 2-1 comeback win.
“We weren’t taking advantage when we had the opportunities early on,” MSMS head coach Joseph Barnard said. “After a while, we kind of settled in. We started to open up more opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of them. Before those two goals, we were just missing them, but they played tough the entire time. They controlled possession.
“I’m just really excited that we get to keep moving on. They played a heck of a game.”
Things got off to a slow start for the Blue Waves (11-3), who saw plenty of pressure early on from the Dragons on their half of the field.
MSMS’s back line was put to the test and withstood the initial few attacks from Pisgah, but the breakthrough on the scoresheet came toward the end of the first half.
Senior striker Asa Hurst exploited a weak spot in the Waves defense, taking the ball on his own from basically the half line past three or four defenders for a one-on-one with the MSMS keeper.
He calmly slotted it in the back of the net to give the Dragons the momentum heading into half, but once the second half came around, the chances steadily increased for the Waves.
Levenson was a big reason for that success as one of the players who was able to successfully drive down the wing, pushing things wide to allow for crosses and shots in front of goal.
“Sawyer was fantastic,” Harvey said. “In really difficult conditions, he really held his own. It’s really difficult to dribble and beat players on this field with it being so slick. He really did that, and that’s how we scored our two goals.”
The plan from the jump was to get the ball wide and whip it in, and sure enough, both goals the Blue Waves scored came off balls put in from the wing.
Osmun Caddell tied things up for MSMS, getting a ground cross in front of net and a wide open look to find the back netting.
Credit has to be given to the Waves’ back line, which was able to withstand some big chances that Pisgah had in the second half, preventing several goals in the process.
It all culminated in a massive celebration on the field and in the stands as a quarterfinal matchup against St. Andrew’s Episcopal at 5:30 p.m. Saturday awaits.
“We know who we’re playing and they’re a good school,” Barnard said. “They have a good program. Our work is going to be cut out for us … We’re really excited to move on. This is a really big deal.”
Other games
Prep girls basketball
Starkville 62, Grenada 52
GRENADA – Starkville girls basketball defeated Grenada, 62-52, in a road district game Wednesday night.
The Yellow Jackets (16-4, 4-1 in district) were led by Jamaica Young and Zariyah Edwards, who scored 16 points each.
Starkville will travel to play Oxford in its next game at 6 p.m. Friday.
Prep boys basketball
Starkville 64, Grenada 37
GRENADA – Starkville boys basketball defeated Grenada, 64-37, in a road district game Wednesday night.
Makhi Myles led the Yellow Jackets (20-4, 5-0 in district) with 16 points in the win. Connor Rogers also had 13 points for Starkville.
Starkville will travel to play Oxford in its next game at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Prep boys soccer
Richland 4, Caledonia 1, MHSAA Class 4A playoffs, second round (played in Pearl)
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