In a rivalry soccer clash, Columbia won at home Monday night over Waterloo, 2-0. 

The Eagles, featuring several underclassmen in key roles, are starting to take flight after starting the season at 1-4 under first-year head coach Jamey Bridges.

“Great win for our young squad,” Bridges said following Monday’s victory. “We have just been gaining confidence and maturing, starting to gel really well. We’ve had trouble capitalizing on opportunities and (Monday night) I felt like we were able to not get frustrated on missed opportunities and capitalize when we needed to. We are starting to play with confidence, guys finding and knowing their roles.”

The game was scoreless at halftime, as action went back and forth on the field in an even split.

On an assist from Cam Ellner, Owen Jackson scored for the Eagles. Then with just 24 seconds remaining in the contest, Rand Mathews put the game away.

Max Barthel made five saves in net for the shutout.

See more photos from the game by clicking here.

Columbia (3-4-1) was scheduled to host another rival on Tuesday night, that being Gibault. The game was postponed due to weather and will instead be played Wednesday night.

Waterloo dropped to (3-3) with the loss. 

“It was a tough one, but we expected it to be a good game,” Waterloo head coach Chad Holden said. “This is by far the youngest team we have ever had in our program and we know we will hit some road bumps, but we have been competitive in all of our games so far and the experience will hopefully pay off in our future years.  Over half of our varsity roster are freshmen or sophomores and they have been getting some valuable minutes. Our seniors have also been great leaders to our younger players.”

On Thursday, Waterloo won 5-1 over Jerseyville. Grant Eugea notched two goals and two assists. Jake Cooling added two goals and an assist.

The Bulldogs host Triad on Wednesday and travel to Mascoutah on Thursday.

Last Tuesday, Columbia won 6-5 in penalty kicks against Breese Central. 

Ellner recorded a hat trick in the game. Bartel made a huge save in the penalty kick round for the Eagles.

On Thursday, Columbia tied Belleville East, 1-1. Micah James scored the goal for the Eagles, assisted by Rand Mathews.

Gibault (1-7) lost 4-1 at Edwardsville on Thursday. Ben Haney notched the goal for the Hawks.

On Saturday, Gibault lost 2-0 to Belleville West. Brian Lance made eight saves in net for the Hawks, who will face Whitfield in Alton this Saturday. 

Valmeyer picked up its first win on Tuesday, 7-1 over Carlyle. Elijah Miller and Mason Eschmann each recorded two goals and an assist for the Pirates

Last Tuesday, the Pirates lost 1-0 at Lebanon in overtime. Evan Rowe-Brown made eight saves in net. 

On Thursday, Valmeyer lost 5-2 to Wood River. Miller and Eschmann scored goals for the Pirates, who host Lebanon on Monday.