High school soccer season is underway in Monroe County, and many of the teams kicked off in style.

Gibault

It was an up-and-down first week for the defending state champions. The Gibault Hawks, playing in the Metro Cup Tournament, registered three wins and one loss.

In their opening game, Gibault thrashed Mascoutah, 6-0. Five different Hawks found the net, with sophomore Ben Mueth scoring twice and Andrew Reinholz, Zach Rueter, Dalton Scace, and Robert Lugge adding a tally each.

The next night, Gibault battled for a 2-0 win over a tough Freeburg team. Reinholz put his team ahead in the first half, and fellow senior Ethan Shields put the game away in the second.

In the semifinal on Friday night, the Hawks played Marion in front of a packed crowd at Oerter Park in Columbia. The fans were treated to a rough back-and-forth contest.

Marion took an early lead, but Gibault answered quickly as Scace scored. Marion then took a 2-1 lead into the half, but Rueter knotted the score at 2-2. Marion took the lead for good late in the second half and held on for the win, despite several quality chances for Gibault.

The Hawks were able to bounce back the next day with a thrilling 1-0 win in penalty kicks over Belleville East to salvage third place.

Both teams came out a little sluggish, and there was very little action in the first half. In the second half, however, things started to pick up. The Gibault offense strung together several good chances, all of which just missed.

East answered with several quality chances of their own, each of them denied by Gibault keeper Trevor Davis and the Hawks defense. Despite plenty of end-to-end action in the final minutes, the teams ended regulation deadlocked at 0-0.

After a quick and uneventful overtime, the teams headed to penalty kicks with Gibault emerging victorious.

For Gibault coach Matt Reeb, the victory culminated a solid first week of the season — though he would have preferred to have won the tournament.

“We recovered well,” he said. “We lost a tough game to a talented team (Friday) night but we were able to get a nice win (Saturday) even though we didn’t play our best.”

Reeb also acknowledged the play of his younger players, who made a difference in their first week.

“They’ve done well,” he said. “They gave their best effort and have shown that they aren’t afraid to play at this level.”

Things don’t get any easier for the Hawks, with games against SLUH, Marquette and Belleville West this week.

“We definitely showed some weaknesses this week,” Reeb said. “We need to be in better shape defensively, and we really have to work on possessing the ball better.”

Columbia

Columbia had just one match in the first week of the season, but it was a good one.

Hosting traditional soccer powerhouse Granite City last Tuesday, the Eagles earned a thrilling 1-0 victory. Senior Sean Rickey scored the only goal of the game in the second half, and Columbia shut out a potent Warriors offense.

Eagles head coach Jason Mathenia was extremely pleased with the result.

“I was really impressed with our ability to play together as a team,” he said. “That was a total team win.”

Though it’s only one game, Mathenia pointed to the defense as a strength that could carry his team far.

“We played very well defensively,” he said. “To shut out a team like Granite City, who has a rich soccer tradition, says a lot about our guys.”

Days later, Granite City scored three goals against Edwardsville, one of the best teams in the state.

Even amidst the exciting win, Mathenia says his team has plenty to work on — most notably finishing their goal-scoring opportunities.

“We will definitely be stressing that a lot,” he said. “We had a lot of good opportunities that we didn’t convert. That has to be better.”

With two more games this week against Carlyle and Mascoutah, the Eagles will look to find their stride.

“We have a lot of soccer ahead of us,” Mathenia said.

Waterloo

The Waterloo High School soccer team emerged from a busy first week with a 2-1 record.

In their first game, the Bulldogs defeated Belleville East, 4-3, in a thriller last Tuesday night.

Clay Metz led the way with two goals for the ‘Dogs, and Daniel Grove and Tyler Begis scored a goal apiece. Begis also had two assists, with Jared Goessling and Sean Kirkpatrick also recording assists.

On Friday night, the Bulldogs traveled to Carbondale to take on Sikeston, Mo., in the  third annual Greg Kline Invitational.

Kane Osterhage scored in the second half, but Waterloo fell 2-1 in a heartbreaker.

Osterhage found the net again the next day, as the ‘Dogs bounced back to earn an impressive 1-0 victory over Alton Marquette. Ethan Lewis was credited with an assist in the victory.

Seniors Tyler Chitty and Charlie McGhee combined for the shutout in goal for the ‘Dogs, who play host to Belleville West on Thursday.

Valmeyer

Valmeyer had an up-and-down week to start the season playing in the Metro Cup Tourney.

Last Wednesday, The Pirates defeated Mount Vernon, 2-1, for their first win of the year. Senior Hunter Brewer tallied both goals in the victory.

On Friday night, Valmeyer faced a tough test in Harrisburg. The Bulldogs proved to be too strong for the Pirates, cruising to an 8-1 win. Matt Hemenway provided Valmeyer’s lone goal.

On Saturday, Valmeyer lost a hard-fought battle against Highland in penalty kicks, 3-2. Brewer and Hemenway contributed a goal apiece.

The Pirates have a busy week ahead of them. Valmeyer plays Collinsville Christian and Valley Park before heading to the Hancock Invitational Tournament.