LOYD STAR — Wesson’s defense was swarmed with wave after wave of Loyd Star attacks on goal from the opening whistle Monday night. Loyd Star went on to win 5-0 but could have scored more with the number of chances created and shots taken. 

Loyd Star Head Coach Jordan Lea told his team after the game he was proud of their perfect start to district play. Loyd Star is 4-0 in district play and are in first place halfway through the season. Lea reminded the team they did not need to get complacent after the dominant performance Monday night. 

“We need to keep climbing. We will have to get even better for who we will play in the playoffs,” Lea said. 

Loyd Star is certainly working towards getting ready for the stiff playoff competition. The Hornets play with a sense of urgency, move the ball quickly and have improved their ball control. 

Not only have the Hornets had a perfect start to the season, they had a dream start to the Wesson match. Loyd Star took the lead and control of the game four minutes in when Brody Thibodeaux fired home a penalty kick. 

Four minutes later, Cooper Creel was fouled in the box but flashed his shot just wide of the right post. Less than a minute later, Loyd Star had won a corner kick and senior Mason Smith steered in a header to give the Hornets a 2-0 lead. 

Loyd Star worked to create more goal scoring opportunities but it wasn’t until 2:50 in the first half that Smith drove a low shot home for a 3-0 lead. It was his second of the match. 

Jamisyn Kelly came so close to pulling off a bicycle kick had Wesson’s goalkeeper not gotten his hand to the ball in time. He finished a great period of play by scoring with two minutes left in the first half to give the Hornets a 4-0 lead. 

The onslaught on goal did not end in the second half. Loyd Star would win possession of the ball after each goal kick, drive into the box and create great goal scoring chances but struggled to find the back of the net. Lea yelled from the sideline that they were trying to find the perfect goal. 

Eventually, Loyd Star found a goal in the second half when Kaleb Waldrop scored on a rebound with 21 minutes left to play. Wesson’s goalkeeper at this point had grumbled about how tired he was although he and his backline maintained good spirits quipping the experience was good defensive practice. 

Loyd Star continued to mount attack after attack on the Wesson goal. Creel tried his best to find his elusive goal. At one point late in the second half, he cannoned two consecutive shots only to have them blocked before the ball went out of play. He cried out in frustration but went back to work until the final whistle blew. 

“We were just dominant tonight. That was probably the best game we played all year,” Smith said. “We possessed the ball really well. It is big to be perfect in district play. We won it last year and we want to win it again. It means a lot.”

Smith said the team can improve on the little things. A few of Loyd Star’s attacks fell apart simply due to poor touches, a missed hit pass or miscommunication. 

Smith mentioned they had a lot of shots on goal but didn’t finish with a goal enough times. 

“We need to continue to practice,” he said. 

The senior has played with Loyd Star soccer since seventh grade. 

“It came really quick. I never expected senior year to already be here like this,” Smith said. “I’m going to miss Loyd Star soccer a lot.”