Two really good girls soccer squads met in a rivalry contest Monday night on the turf at Columbia High School, with the home team ending up celebrating a narrow victory.

The Eagles (9-2-2) hosted Monroe County foe Waterloo (6-3-1), winning 1-0 in a well-played match.

Columbia got the only goal of the game on a score from Riley Mathews with 15 minutes left in the first half. Alaina Rains was credited with the assist.

From there, Columbia goalkeeper Jessica Bearley preserved the shutout with eight saves on the night. 

The Eagles controlled possession much of the first half, but Waterloo turned up the pressure with multiple scoring chances late.

Prior to Monday’s rivalry win, Columbia dropped a close contest Friday with its annual postseason rival, Althoff, on Saturday. The score was 2-1. Madi Ross netted the goal for the Eagles on an assist from Reese Woelfel.

Last Thursday, Columbia won 6-0 at Roxana, getting two goals and three assists from Mathews and a pair of goals from Woelfel.

Last Tuesday, it was a 9-0 victory for the Eagles at home against Breese Central. Mathews and Woelfel each netted four goals in that victory.

Columbia hosted Granite City on Thursday, battling to a 1-1 tie. The Eagles play Saturday at Mascoutah.

Mathews leads the way in scoring for the Eagles this spring with 19 goals and nine assists. Woelfel has 11 goals and nine assists.

In net, Bearley has a .902 save percentage and miniscule 0.56 goals against average. 

Waterloo preceded Monday’s match with a 5-1 win against Perryville on Friday. Nichole Gum scored twice, with Ava Hemmer, Megan Huebner and Grace Pohl also netting a goal apiece.

On Thursday, the Bulldogs won 2-0 at Mascoutah. Jordyn Keller and Megan Young scored for Waterloo.

Last Tuesday, the Bulldogs suffered yet another defeat at the hands of longtime Mississippi Valley Conference nemesis Triad, 5-1. The score was 1-1 at halftime, but the Knights eventually wore down Waterloo.

The Bulldogs hosted Jerseyville on Wednesday, winning 8-2 on a hat trick from Young.

Waterloo plays Thursday at Freeburg, hosts cross-town rival Gibault on Monday, and then travels Tuesday to Highland. 

Gum is the leading scorer this season for the ‘Dogs with 12 goals and an assist.

Speaking of Gibault, the team is 11-3-1 this spring thanks to an offensive spark from multiple players and a star effort from a freshman goalkeeper.

On Wednesday, the Hawks tied Mascoutah with goals from Elena Oggero, Natalie Kelemetc and Emily Richardson.

On Tuesday, Richardson had a hat trick and two assists, with Kamille Grohmann, Payton Kelemetc and Aubrey Thomas each scoring twice in a 9-1 romp of Wesclin.

On Monday, the Hawks won 7-2 over Roxana as both Karmon Grohmann and Richardson scored twice. 

This past Friday, it was a 5-0 victory for Gibault at home against Mehlville. Karmon Grohmann and Richardson each recorded two goals and two assists, and Maggie Altes made 13 saves in net.

Last Thursday, Altes had an eight-save shutout as four different Hawks netted goals in a 4-0 blanking of Mater Dei. 

Last Tuesday, Gibault lost 6-0 at St. Pius X from Missouri. 

The Hawks play the “Battle of Waterloo” this coming Monday.

Richardson has 18 goals and 16 assists to lead the Hawks in scoring this spring, with Karmon Grohmann not far behind with 14 goals and 13 assists.

Altes has a 1.45 goals against average and .893 save percentage to go along with her whopping 133 saves in net already this season.