The learning process continues for the Jefferson City Lady Jays.
But it looks like they are starting to put some things together.
"It was a decent night for us, we built up a lot of things and created some chances," Lady Jays coach Eddie Horn said after Tuesday night's 6-1 victory against the Moberly Lady Spartans at the 179 Soccer Park.
"The important thing is we're getting better each time out."
The Lady Jays finished with a 35-1 edge in total shots, including a 18-1 advantage in those on goal.
"This was the best we've looked at moving the ball the way I want to move it," Horn said.
The first half was played in a steady drizzle and it took a few minutes for the Lady Jays to find their stride.
Jefferson City got on the board midway through the half when Sarah Luebbert lined home a shot from just outside the box. Luebbert then had a hand in the Lady Jays' next goal five minutes later, working a give-and-go with Kourtney Betts as Betts picked up the score to make it 2-0.
"We need to remember, we're just six games into this," Horn said. "But you can see progress."
The rain stopped in the second half and the Lady Jays' offense got in gear, scoring three times in the first 12 minutes to put the game away.
Eden Hoogveld made it 3-0 seven minutes into the half, scoring on a long shot into the upper corner of the far side of the net. Two minutes later, Megan Martens took full advantage when a rebound came out in front of the net and it was 4-0.
"Getting two that quickly, it was pretty much over," Horn said.
Three minutes later, Hoogveld picked up her second goal on a scramble in front of the goal.
Brianna Lock got Jefferson City's final goal midway through the half.
Moberly (0-4) got on the board with 12 minutes remaining. Jefferson City was whistled for a foul near the end line and on the ensuing restart, Moberly passed the ball to the far side of the net where a Lady Spartan was waiting to knock it into the upper corner of the net.
"It was just a matter of where a series of mistakes led to them scoring," Horn said. "One mistake, we could have probably overcome, but not all of them we made on that play."
But that was a rare mistake on the defensive end for the Lady Jays, who kept the Lady Spartans bottled up on their half of the field for much of the night.
"In the big picture, it was a good win and we played well," Horn said.
Jefferson City was coming off a tough stretch of games last week at the Lee's Summit Tournament. Tuesday night, the reserves were able to pick up some extended minutes.
"We had a pretty good hold of this one, so we got the chance to see some players at some different positions and how they work as a combination," Horn said.
Jefferson City (4-1-1) is back in action Thursday at Camdenton.
In Tuesday's junior varsity game, Gabi McGinty scored three goals in Jefferson City's 8-0 victory. Esther Ruboneka, Sarah Hirst, Morgan Moffat, Alaina Allsbury and Justus Neeley all added one, while Megan Foster picked up the shutout in goal for the Lady Jays (4-2).