Mount Vernon High School

The Mt. Vernon Wildcats boys' soccer team took to the road on Saturday afternoon for their season opener against conference opponent Forest Park. The Wildcats lost a lot of experience from last season, but that didn't deter them against a strong Ranger team. Forest Park scored their first goal five minutes into the game off of a corner kick. After that goal Mt. Vernon tightened up their defense and held the Rangers in check for the rest of the first half. Senior Max Hamrick made several big saves in the goal, and senior James Basden as well as junior Mason Higginson anchored the defense. In the second half the Rangers scored another early goal to stretch the lead to 2. Again the Wildcats tightened up after the goal, but it was too much to overcome. Hamrick ended the game with 14 saves. Despite the loss the Cats looked very good and gained a lot of valuable experience. Mt. Vernon returns to action Thursday night at home against South Spencer at 6:00.