MATTOON -- With emotions running high, the Mattoon soccer team took the field Thursday night in the school's first sporting event since this week's shooting.
The Green Wave knocked off rival Charleston 4-0 to improve to 10-1-2 on the season and 5-0-1 in the Apollo Conference (good for a first place tie with Mahomet-Seymour).
But the most powerful moment of Thursday night came after the game, when the crowd lined the field in a display of support for the students.
Time ticked away following the final whistle, and few left the field. Parents visited with their kids, others played pickup soccer. Under the lights, the Mattoon community showed what its made of.
"It's been a tough week," head coach Ryan Ghere said. "The kids, most of them didn't go to school today, they stayed home just to get a break. They came out and they left it out there. I mean, it was tough. It was a tough situation physically, emotionally. But they did, they battled and I'm proud of them. They're great kids. I mean, they're good soccer players but they're great kids better than soccer players."
Sophomore midfielder/forward Tiago Lages scored three goals in the Mattoon win. Lages is a foreign exchange student from Brazil.
"The shooting is like really hard," Lages said, "but soccer is a thing I love, all these guys love and when you play you forget all your problems and just have fun."
Volleyball
The Green Wave volleyball team was also scheduled to play at Mattoon High, but it was moved to Effingham. There the Green Wave rallied for a three-game victory 17-25, 25-17, 25-19 over the host Flaming Hearts.
