FISHERSVILLE - It was a simple progression to what Brad Wygant was feeling Monday about his Wilson Memorial boys soccer team.
Fast start. Fast finish. Impressive win. Happy coach.
Indeed, the Green Hornets' 6-1 Shenandoah District victory over Luray would have put a smile on the face of any coach. For Wygant, it was the kind of performance from his team he'd been waiting for since the season began in March.
"We weren't hesitant. We didn't wait on things," said Wygant, whose team improved to 7-1-1 in the district with the win, its fifth in its last six outings. "They were tired, they were asking for subs and that meant they we were working hard, which is what I've asked of them."
That hard work reaped rewards in the first six minutes of the contest. The Wilson front line put immense pressure on Luray's back line and keeper Brayden Burrill, and it led to a quick lead.
Garrett Mongold got Wilson on the scoreboard with goal from inside the box less that 2 minutes in. Three minutes later, co-captain Francisco Rivas Ruiz made it 2-0 with a shot from outside the box.
Then, with 13 minutes left in the half, Luke Bryant made it a three-goal lead for the Hornets when he converted a chance close in off a scramble.
Rivas Ruiz chalked up the solid start to learning each other's styles over the first half of the season.
"Two months of playing together has helped," the junior midfielder said. "We struggled a bit at the beginning of the season, but we've gotten better and it showed tonight.
"We scored two early goals and kept the pressure on," he added. "We kept the ball in the middle and just did everything Coach Wygant told us to do."
But just over a minute later, the Bulldogs (4-3-2), who have now gone 1-3-2 over their last six, got on the board when Sam Liscomb nailed a one-timer from 10 yards out to make it 3-1 with under 12 minutes left in the half.
That's the way the half ended, but Wygant and the Hornets were still wary of Luray, which looked like it was getting its game together in the final minutes of the half.
"A two-goal lead at the half is a scary lead," Wygant said. "You feel comfortable about the lead, but, at the same time, you know one mistake or a great play by your opponent, and they're right back in it."
However, Will Parrott, the Hornets' sophomore striker made sure that didn't happen, scoring a pair of goals before the midway point of the second half.
First, with less that 10 minutes gone by in the half, he converted a beautiful cross from the right side by Samuel Chapa Alanis. He found Parrott to the left of the Luray goal and Parrot sent it home for a 4-1 lead.
Two minutes later, he settled a clearing pass from Rivas Ruiz at the Luray 35, drove down the left side past defender Cameron Fetterhoff and rocketed the ball past Burrill to make it 5-1.
"We knew a two-goal lead wasn't going to be enough," said Parrott, one of eight sophomores on the Wilson roster. "We knew we just had to keep going and not let up in the second half."
Finally, midfielder Ryan Ingersoll, also a sophomore, closed out the scoring with under 12 minutes left when he got Burrill out of position and sent the ball past him from just inside the box for a 6-1 lead.
Certainly a team performance worth waiting for. But Wygant has let his team know that he doesn't want to wait that long again for an effort like Monday's.
Considering that the Hornets have one more match with league-leading Robert E. Lee (9-0), and Stuarts Draft is breathing down their necks in third place at 5-2-2, Wygant, whose team faces Luray on the road Tuesday, then hosts the aforementioned Leemen on Saturday, said it was the kind of effort they need to produce every time out.
"This was the best 80 minutes we've put together as a team this year, but I've told them that it can't stop here," he said. "We're just past the midway point of the season, and we feel pretty good about our record, but there's still a long way to go."