Despite the weather, it was an all around happy night to be a Demon on the soccer pitch Thursday with both Washington teams picking up rival victories against Mount Pleasant in a home doubleheader. 

The girls’ game had enough drama to keep the frigid fans engaged all night and it ended with a 5-4 walk-off win in double overtime. It didn’t take long for either team to settle in with the Panthers scoring right from the jump, but Giselle Marcelino found the equalizer a few minutes later. It was 3-2 Washington at the break, but back-to-back tallies by Mount Pleasant (2-1) in the second half had the orange and black on the ropes. Greta Rothe saved regulation by soaring one through the net in the closing minutes to force the extra period. Late in the second overtime, Rothe found Marcelino racing down the field and the sophomore did the rest for the game winner. She tells KCII Sports about what she saw. “Coach always talks about placement and I made sure I was in the right spot. It was a good pass to me and I knew that was my chance. I was scared I was going to miss it, but once it went in it was truly exciting.”

Marcelino and Rothe each had a pair of goals and Ava Turner had the other score. Elyse Hunt held her own at the other end by keeping the game alive with a few saves in the extra 20 minutes. The Demons stayed unbeaten by moving to 4-0 and this was the fifth consecutive one goal game between these Southeast Conference foes. 

Fans could breathe a little easier in the boys’ game with the Demons scorching the nets seven times for a 7-0 triumph. Kevin Marcelino got the party started eight minutes into the game with a goal and Fredy Aguilar did the same 10 minutes later. It was 3-0 at the break and the pressure continued in the second half for the decisive victory. Aguilar and Emre Akgul each scored twice while Marcelino, Bill De La Rosa, and Quentin Howard also found the back of the net. Three of the tallies were assisted by Aguilar, Erick Ortez Jr., and Brayan Arreola. Cole Anderson picked up his second shutout in goal and finished with three saves. Akgul explained what is going right with the team. “We were prepared coming into the season and our coaches have conditioned us really well for games. We are making sure we are staying in good positions and working on passes. Our defense has been solid and we are just playing as a team.” Washington has outscored their opponents 21-0 in a pair of games to move to 2-0.

Both Demon teams start up SEC play 1-0 and they get back on the pitch Monday against Fort Madison.