Warden streak snapped by Connell
Warden forward Nicole Guerra (4) wrestles for the ball against a Mabton defender during the Cougars' 4-0 win Oct. 10. Warden's six-match winning streak ended Tuesday after the team lost to Connell 2-1 in penalty kicks.
WARDEN - The Warden Cougars soccer team was handed its first loss since Sept. 26 by the Connell Eagles Tuesday, 2-1 in penalty kicks.
The loss marks the end of a six-match win streak that propelled the Cougars to the top of the South Central Athletic Conference East division standings before Tuesday's match.
"It was a really good game," head coach Don Edson said. "The girls came out ready to play and just moved the ball around, passed really well, created some opportunities and overall just really worked well as a team and played well together."
Warden now falls to second place in the SCAC East division with a 5-2 record in league play and 7-4 overall. Connell remains undefeated in league at 6-0 and improves their record to 9-2.
The Cougars took an early 1-0 lead when midfielder BryLee Whitney found the back of the net in the 17th minute. The lead held all the way until the 65th minute when Jessica Garcia hit the equalizer in the 65th minute to tie the game at 1-1.
After a scoreless overtime, Connell was able to connect on four penalty kicks to Warden's three and asked with the win.
Despite the loss, Edson was proud of the way his team competed.
"Early on during the season I've always tried to talk to the girls and tell them what I thought, what I expected from the team, how I thought that they were capable to challenge anybody," he said. "I thought that going into the season they had every reason to believe that should be able to challenge for that top league spot in our side of the SCAC."
Warden will look to rebound today when it travels to Royal City to face the Royal Knights at 6 p.m. The Knights currently sit just behind the Cougars in third place of the SCAC East division.