Tristan Shytle’s hat trick leads Columbus to win over East Coweta

After Columbus boys soccer dropped a rare region game to Shaw on Wednesday, Blue Devil Tristan Shytle said he and his teammates shared text messages back and forth about answering in their next time out. Two days after that loss, Shytle was the driving force in his team doing just that.

Shytle pulled off a hat trick, scoring two first-half goals and one in the second half in a 3-0 victory over East Coweta. The win got the Blue Devils back on track after the Raiders put a stop to their three-game winning streak.

“It felt good,” Shytle said. “We came in off a tough loss to Shaw that kind of put the region back in the balance, but this was a bounce-back game for us. I’m just glad we performed the way we did.”

Columbus (11-5) threatened to score from the very start of the match, but the East Coweta defenders kept the Blue Devils in check until five minutes had gone by in the first half. That’s when Shytle struck for the first time, delivering a perfect header to give his team the early advantage.

“I just wanted to kind of impose my will from the get go,” Shytle said. “It took some time, and we finally got it. Then it just started rolling for us.”

Shytle might have scored all of the Blue Devils’ goals, but head coach Rey Torres praised the entire team’s effort in getting back in the win column.

“The team played great and allowed (Shytle) to do that,” Torres said. “By being dangerous all over the field, it opened up space. For a guy like him, you give him half an opportunity, he’s going to take it.”

East Coweta topped Columbus last season, leading Torres to praise his team afterward for not only winning, but doing so in what he deemed “dominating” fashion.

“The guys have just been working so hard, and it’s been paying off,” Torres said. I think they’re seeing that. They’re excited for the rest of the season and to see what we can accomplish in the end.”

The boys victory followed a 2-1 loss for the the Lady Blue Devils in a match that literally came down to the last second.

Columbus (14-1-1) had a penalty kick with no time remaining on the clock, but a stop by the East Coweta goalkeeper thwarted any chance at the Lady Blue Devils forcing extra time. The loss was the Lady Blue Devils’ first this season.

“It was a very frustrating game,” head coach Catherine Lovin said. “I felt like we had the better players, and we just allowed the other team to kind of dictate the way we played. We came out a lot better in the second half, but it was just disappointing for us.”

Abigail Marmito scored the only goal for the Lady Blue Devils, coming through on a shot with 19:46 left in the second half.

“It was definitely really important,” Lovin said. “That really re-energized us. It made us really chase that second goal.”

As disappointing as the loss was on the team’s Senior Night, Lovin pointed out that the team’s refusal to give up until the clock struck all zeroes was exactly what she wanted to see.

“We have to believe that we can come back in every moment,” Lovin said. “It’s huge for them to still be fighting so hard at the end. We have to keep that mentality going forward, that every second is a chance to score.”

Columbus’ teams play again Tuesday in away matches against Brookstone.

This story was originally published April 14, 2017 at 10:33 PM with the headline "Tristan Shytle’s hat trick leads Columbus to win over East Coweta."