Everything is coming up Mustangs in boys’ soccer.

No. 6 (2A) Mount Vernon extended its win streak to eight straight with a 6-4 win over Waverly-Shell Rock on Thursday, May 21, at Armstrong Field.

The playoffs began Wednesday, May 27, at home against Washington (6-8-2). Win that, and they’d play Friday, May 29, against either Solon (8-4-5) or Fairfield (10-5-1).for a chance at a trip to the 2A state tournament.

Mount Vernon (13-3-1) is chasing the second state trip in program history (2016).

“I think they are trying to stay locked in on the process,” Mount Vernon Coach Nathan Grosse said. “I think there’s a good amount of confidence and belief. They are excited to do something special.”

Against WSR, the Mustangs rolled out to a 4-0 lead at halftime, then had to white-knuckle it a bit over the final 40 minutes. The Go-Hawks cut the lead to 4-3, then 5-4, before senior Jaxon Anderson scored a big insurance goal late.

“We wanted a tough match this week (between Wamac schedule ending and the postseason),” Grosse said. “We got a much more exciting and competitive match than the first half was indicating.”

Mount Vernon has outscored opponents during its win streak 34-6.

“We’ve had a ton of shots all season, but early on we were not putting many in,” Grosse said. “The longer this group has played together, the more they’ve put the ball in the net.”

Anderson had a hat trick for the third straight game.

“He’s pretty locked in,” Grosse said. “He’s taking a lot of personal responsibility as being a guy that needs to score.”

Cooper Anderson, Carter Gadberry and Caiden Boesenberg also had goals in the win. Zion Safo had two assists and Gadberry and Anderson had one each.