Southeast Iowa Super Conference teams took to the pitch last night to open the high school boys’ soccer playoffs. That included the Columbus Wildcats advancing to the next round by defeating Wapello 5-1 as part of a Class 1A Substate 5 doubleheader in Columbus Junction.

It took until the 29th minute for Columbus to finally get on the board thanks to senior Oscar Alcala. After Wapello responded to tie the game one minute later, Wildcat sophomore Bryan Tlatenchi would pick up a foul in the box area in the 35th minute, leading Alcala to bury his second goal of the game on a penalty. Columbus added three more goals in the second half on their way to their fifth win in the last six matches and improving their record to 8-8.

The WACO Warriors and Highland Huskies were not as fortunate, dropping their first-round matches in substate play last night. In the first game of the Substate 5 doubleheader at Columbus Junction, WACO nearly scored on Danville in the opening minute but had the goal wiped out by an offsides call. Danville took advantage to score two minutes later, and despite multiple chances, the Warriors could never come up with an equalizer. WACO’s first-ever soccer season ends with a record of 4-9 and the graduation of two seniors, Lillian Keller and Natalie West.

Highland fell behind 3-0 at halftime against Prince of Peace in a Substate 4 match in Monticello. Despite a pair of tallies in the second half, the Huskies fell 5-2 to end their season with a mark of 1-12. Highland will lose senior Carlos Valenzuela to graduation. While the Huskies and WACO are done for the spring, Columbus now gears up for the Substate 5 semifinals Monday against Mediapolis.