Offense shines in boys? shutout

There seemed to be a joint sigh of relief at the Washington soccer field on Thursday night.

The Demon boys? soccer team controlled much of the first half, getting off a number of shots, but finally in the 35th minute, a Joe Smith strike finally got them on the board, and after that, it was all Washington.

?I told the guys at halftime that it was like a key unlocking a door,? Washington boys? soccer head coach Steven Caulk said. ?It took us a minute and a half to score another one. We had poor finishing touches for about 35 minutes and then suddenly we found our game again. We?ve had a rough patch with a series of games, and it took us a little bit to find that rhythm again.?

The Demons? offense took off after that moment, putting up six goals in the game,  to defeat Mediapolis 6-0.

The win ends a four-game losing streak for the Demons (2-4), as they look ahead to the second half of the season.

?We needed it to boost our confidence heading into the next game because we have had our head down,? Smith said. ?With a good win and some more work, we can turn things around and have a good season.?

The Demons had five different players notch a goal (one was an own goal by Mediapolis), showing a diverse set of shooters.

?It makes me excited, because given the right opportunity, most of our guys can score,? Smith said. ?That?s really good to know, because we have more connections and chemistry.?

After Smith put in the first goal of the game in the 35th minute, it only took another minute for the Demons to find the back of the net again.

Christian Mejia drove to the right side of the box and dumped the ball down low to Tony Torres, who connected on the shot attempt to make it 2-0 heading into the second half.

Mejia added a goal of his own in the 55th minute for the Demons, followed by goals from Alex Lopez and Andres Gutierrez, before Mediapolis knocked a ball into its own net to round out the scoring.

?That?s the game we want to play ? a possession game,? Caulk said. ?We want to move the ball around the field and use our players, and they did a nice job of that. Earlier in the year we?d try the fast break and it wasn?t working for us. A little more possession and it was a much better game for us.?

With the win, Caulk said that he is hoping that the team finds its groove as they look to the second half of the conference season.

?It?s essential,? Caulk said. ?We?ve been playing up and down, and playing at the level of the teams we?ve been meeting oftentimes and we?re coming up short. We need to learn that if we want to win, we have to play at our level and not at the level of the teams (we are against).?

The Demons will have a week off before taking on Keokuk on the road next Thursday. After that game, the Demons will wrap up the season with their final four games at home, something they hope to use to their advantage.

?Obviously having that home field advantage, particularly with the quirks of the field, we can turn that into an advantage,? Caulk said. ?We will have support and have more people coming out, so hopefully we can turn that into some wins here.?