By Kyle Daubs
There’s not a lot stopping Mattoon soccer these days.
After winning the Decatur St. Teresa Invitational title, the Green Wave followed that up by outscoring their next three opponents 21-2. Mattoon (6-0) has rolled past Monticello 8-1, Warrensburg-Latham 6-1 and Olney 7-0.
Add the St. Teresa tourney and Mattoon has outscored its opponents by a 34-3 margin.
The Green Wave will now display this high-power offense on a new turf field during its home opener against Champaign Judah Christian on Friday.
Faith Niebrugge has posted three hat tricks, including five goals against Monticello for 15 total, while Lily Ghere has two straight hat tricks for nine goals along with a team-leading 15 assists. Piper Sanders has three goals and three assists while Marley Vanhovlen has also scored three times. Plus, Bella Masse and Paige Farmer each have two goals.
“It has been a great start to the season,” said MHS coach Ryan Ghere. “Our schedule is going to start to get tougher next week. Our first home game is Friday. The girls are excited that they will get to play our first game on our new turf field.”
Anabelle Lee and Avery Smith have split time in goal. Lee has snared nine saves and allowed two goals for a 0.67 goals-against average. Smith has five saves and a 0.33 average.
“We have played better each game,” said Ghere. “Faith and Lily have scored several goals, but other girls are starting to step up and put the ball in the net. Our defense is doing a great job of not allowing our opponents to have many scoring chances. We just need to keep improving and work on better ball control.”
| Opponent | Result | Score | |
| Mattoon | Mt Zion | W | 3-0 |
| Mattoon | Pleasant Plains | W | 4-1 |
| Mattoon | Warrensburg | W | 6-0 |
| Mattoon | Monticello | W | 8-1 |
| Mattoon | Warrensburg | W | 6-1 |
| Mattoon | Olney | W | 7-0 |
Coles County Sports 