Starkville’s boys soccer team opened the 2025 season on Thursday with a 2-1 victory over Saltillo that was played in Starkville due to flooding of Saltillo’s field. 

Alejandro Camarena-Silva got the Yellow Jackets on the scoreboard just before halftime for the team’s first points of the season and a 1-0 lead the team grew to 2-0 with about 15 minutes left in the game behind a goal from Cline Kemp. The Tigers cut their deficit in half near the 5-minute mark on a goal from Asher Jackson, and a battle to halt the visiting team from tying the game ensued.

“The last five minutes was just a brawl trying for us to keep the win and for the other team, they were trying to tie it up,” Starkville head coach Evinn Watson said. “Overall we have to do a little bit better of finishing and scoring some goals because at the end of the day that’s how you win a game, putting the ball in the back of the net.

“It honestly was a pretty good game. We started out pretty good, kept some good possessions, moved the ball and had a lot of chances (to score). I think we played pretty good throughout the whole game.”

Watson took some of the blame for the late Saltillo goal and the following mad scramble to keep them out of the net. He said he got away from his original gameplan and that “hurt us.” But the strong feet of both Camarena-Silva and Kemp were the difference in the game, something he expects to see more examples of as the season rolls on.

“Alejandro was a big player for us last year,” Watson said. “He was one of our younger guys who stepped up and got a lot of playing time at midfield and played a little bit of winger for us, so we are expecting big things from him this year.”

Up next for the Jackets (1-0) is a 3 p.m. home contest today against New Albany. The Bulldogs are already 3-0 this season and are yet to relinquish a goal. The team is coming off an appearance in the Class 4A state championship game last season. Watson got to know some of their players well during the offseason when he coached the North All-Star team in the Randy West North/South All-Star game in July. 

“(I’m) excited to see them play and (I’m) trying to gameplan against them because I’ve already seen them play a little bit here and there from the all-star game,” Watson said. … “New Albany is a very good team. They move the ball, they play the right way and they score some good goals. So, it’s going to be a tough one for us for sure.”

Starkville’s girls soccer team didn’t have similar luck in their season opener on Thursday and fell 3-0. The squad will try to bounce back when it hosts New Albany at noon today.