Warden girls soccer beats Cle Elum

WARDEN — Warden girls soccer battled adverse weather conditions Saturday morning to beat Cle Elum/Roslyn, 2-1, in the first round of the District 5 1A tournament.

The Cougars previously lost to the Warriors 3-4 on Sept. 24. However, since that loss Warden won 11 of 13 matches.

“Early on our inconsistency was kind of an issue for us,” head coach Don Edson said. “Just the weather yesterday, the wind that both teams had to deal with, I just think that we were able to deal with it a little bit better and able to make things still work for us in spite of the wind that was blowing.”

Midfielder BryLee Whitney got the Cougars on the board with a penalty kick in the 19th minute and forward Jennifer Mendoza added a second goal in the 72nd minute.

Warden will move on to face La Salle Nov. 5 at Marquette Stadium. The Lightning eliminated the Cougars during last year’s district tournament.

Edson hopes his team will be able to draw on last year’s experience.

“I think because so many of the girls that played in that game last year are returning and are on this year’s team I think there will be a little bit of a belief,” Edson said. “Every team is beatable... all it takes is one day one time for something special to happen.”

Edson stressed that for his team to beat the Lightning, who were co-league champions with Naches Valley, he will need a solid performance from Whitney as well as the entire team.

“She’s always a gamer, she’s always up for all the big games,” Edson said. “But the key will be for a team. It won’t be one individual that would win a game for us at this point.”

Today’s game against La Salle is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start.