The Capital City Cavaliers were happy with an unexpected homefield advantage.
"We just have to play our game and do the right things to be able to win," Capital City coach Travis Cairer said after the Cavaliers opened Class 3 District 4 play Saturday afternoon with a 6-1 victory against the Pacific Tigers at Capital City High School.
"The boys were excited to be here, so if that gets them amped up and playing just a little harder, that's good."
The district tournament was scheduled to start Saturday down the road at the 179 Soccer Park. But the recent run of wet weather meant the tournament moved to the artificial turf at Capital City High School for the opening round.
The Cavaliers got off to a good start Saturday, scoring a little more than five minutes into the game.
"We came out ready to go with some energy," Cairer said. "Then after we flattened out a little bit, we got re-energized a little bit and tucked that first one away."
Mo Yanis tallied the goal for the Cavaliers, with Nate Wilbanks picking up the assist.
Wilbanks made it 2-0 with 21:51 remaining in the first half, tapping in a pass from Landon Carney.
Garrett Carney doubled Capital City's lead in a three-minute span late in the first half. Clayton Hamler earned assists on both goals as the Cavaliers took a 4-0 advantage into intermission.
Wilbanks picked up his second goal of the game about eight minutes into the second half. Miles Andrews got an assist on the score that made it 5-0.
Landon Carney made it 6-0 about four minutes later off an assist by Ben Conrad.
With the big lead, the Cavaliers starters went to the bench with about 20 minutes remaining in the second half. Pacific tallied its goal with 7:33 remaining on a shot by Jacob Turner.
"We would have liked the shutout, but there are some guys who don't get a lot of playing time and they've put in the effort in practice and deserve to be on the field in games like this," Cairer said. "They are a big part of our success because of what they do for us, getting them some varsity time on the field was worth the goal, for sure."
Pacific, the No. 7 seed in the eight-team tournament, ends the year with a record of 11-15.
Capital City (14-6), the No. 2 seed, advances to Monday night's semifinal against Jefferson City (13-10). The third-seeded Jays topped Washington 2-1 in Saturday's first game.
Capital City defeated Jefferson City 3-1 back on Aug. 31.
"I don't like playing the same team twice, bad things can happen," Cairer said. "We have to be ready, that's for sure."
The Cavaliers and Jays will play at 7 p.m. The first semifinal, scheduled for 5 p.m., will pit top-seeded Rockwood Summit (12-10) against fourth-seeded Rolla (13-8).
The semifinals are currently scheduled to be played at the 179 Soccer Park.
The district title game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday.