Wagner Stadium was on edge Tuesday evening leading up to the most significant Eastern Plains Conference match of the season — the fans, the referee, the coaches. The tension was inescapable.

A regularly vicarious, casual student section was attentive to every touch, every shot, as the ping of a bass drum only fueled the fire to a Washington soccer team looking to put an injury-plagued past behind them. And the team took its first step towards full cohesion with an ugly 7-1 win over the conference’s No. 2 team, North Pitt, placing the Pam Pack in reach of its second title in as many years.

“They’re definitely a tough team, but we came to play soccer,” said head coach Jim Kozuch. “We had a great fan base tonight, which is huge for us. Having these fans really lifted us up and brought us back to playing some good soccer.”

If there was any nervousness or apprehension among the players, that went by the wayside within the first four minutes of the contest thanks to a thunderous strike off the right foot of midfielder Lupe Barrera. After toeing the 25-yard line and dribbling past a defender, the Washington captain contorted his body, shifting all his energy to his right leg, and deposited a high-velocity shot into the upper right corner of the net. The goalie stood no chance.

“(The goal) was definitely huge for his confidence,” Kozuch said. “He scored a lot of goals this summer and he’s been fighting injuries. Last year he actually heated up before the playoffs and scored some goals, so hopefully this is his time and just keeps it rolling from here on out.”

While the Pam Pack have had trouble finishing prime scoring opportunities, it was North Pitt that had difficulty getting any well-paced shots past goalie William Tate. On the other hand, a bit of an offensive resurgence had Kozuch’s midfield operating more efficiently than ever, each pass finding its man and just about every strike requiring a save.

Thirteen minutes into the half, junior Miguel Hernandez hooked a cross from the sideline to junior Gabriel Valle-Torres, who was charging from the up the field from the back line. Playing it off one bounce, Valle-Torres hit a runner past the goalie to give Washington a quick 2-0 lead.

Before even reaching the 20-minute mark in the first half, the Pam Pack notched another two goals — one on a cross from sophomore Eric Ruiz that found center midfielder William Page and the other by senior Kyle Hodges, who took advantage of a defensive lapse.

Five minutes later, Hodges used a burst of speed to get behind the defense and create a one-on-one with the goalie. The Pam Pack striker collided with North Pitt keeper Luis Perez, but was able to toe a shot into the back of the net.

Clearly aggravated, the Panthers dialed up the aggression and the Pam Pack followed suit. After three consecutive shots on goal and a North Pitt midfielder who was injured down field, defender Dylan Singleton stopped a break and knocked the ball (and the forward) away with a slide tackle. He was awarded a yellow card as a result. Afterwards, Kozuch requested the referee explain the ruling and was also given a yellow card. The infractions would be two of five eventual yellow cards handed to Washington, which outshot North Pitt 11-6 in the first half.

The Pam Pack picked up right where it left off out of the gate in the second half. Just two minutes in, senior Sergio Higuera earned a free kick to the right of the box. He curled a cross and found the smallest guy on the field, Ruiz, for a header, giving Washington a 6-0 lead.

North Pitt quickly erased the goal with one of its own, but it would be too little too late. For the remainder of the half, both teams traded slide tackles and shots on goal, including three from Washington that caromed off the frame. The referee also found it fit to eject a concentrated pocket of fans from both sections on two separate instances in the final 30 minutes.

Higuera tacked on the final goal with 10 minutes to go in a winning effort for the Pam Pack.

“We’re just trying to win out,” Kozuch said. “We’ve definitely had our highs and lows over the last few weeks, but right now, it was nice to see some tough competition and see that we could still get up for it.”

With the win, today’s matchup against Southwest Edgecombe gives Washington the opportunity to capture the conference championship for the second-straight season.