Cougar soccer dominates Kiona-Benton

WARDEN - Defense was the name of the game for the Cougars as Warden shut out Kiona-Benton 5-0 on the pitch at home Tuesday.

"This was another solid game from the Warden defenders," coach Ed Aguilar said. "My defenders and midfielders kept Ki-Be forwards out of shooting range and Osbaldo, our keeper, didn't have to work too hard. But he displayed great leadership from the back, calling out positioning to our defenders."

The first score of the match came at the 22 minute-mark off an unassisted goal by Orlando Alba who outran Bear defenders and dribbled past their keeper as he deposited the ball in the Ki-Be box. It was Alba's fourth goal in the last two matches.

Arturo Dominguez (Orlando Alba) made it 2-0 Cougars eight minutes later on a header into the net. The third goal of the first half of action for Warden was recorded by Peter Manville (his second this season) 35 minutes into the contest off an assist by Alba who delivered a long pass to the 18-yardline. Manville dribbled past the Bears keeper and rocketed a shot to the left post for the score.

The second half of play saw the Cougars put two more goals on the board. The first score by Elias Valencia (Fernando Landeros) came at the 55th minute of play to give Warden a comfortable 4-0 lead.

Carlos Figueroa recorded the second goal at the 75 minute-mark to close out the scoring for the match.

The Cougars finished with 12 shots on frame to the Bears 6. Osbaldo Alba had 2 saves for Warden.

The win over Ki-Be extends the Cougars winning streak to six games and improved Warden to 6-2 at the mid-season mark.

The Cougars are back on the pitch today when they travel to Connell for a match against the 3-5 Eagles.