Wahluke soccer wins twice, takes over 3rd place

MATTAWA – Wahluke defeated Royal and College Place by 1-0 scores last week in girls soccer to move into third place in the SCAC East and place a solid grip on a district tournament berth.

Wahluke, 8-5 overall, improved its SCAC East mark to 6-4, half a game ahead of 5-4 Connell in fourth place. Fifth-place Royal has a 3-6 mark. The top four go to district.

“Hosted Wahluke and needed a win, but we were unable to find a goal,” Royal coach Jens Jensen said. “The girls played well and certainly worked hard enough to have the result go in their favor.”

Royal and Wahluke were scoreless at halftime. Wahluke scored in the second half on a missed clearance that allowed a Wahluke attacker a shot on goal.

“The shot looked harmless, but we were caught out of position, and it rolled into the net,” Jensen said.

Royal took more shots on goal than Wahluke, 5-4, and had seven corner kicks to three, but Warrior goal keeper Brenda Nolasco and her team turned every Royal attempt away.

Celeste Lopez scored the winning goal against a tough Royal defense. Lopez received the ball around the top of the 18-yard box, and slotted the ball in to the left side of the goal, into the side netting.

The College Place conquest turned out to be a happy birthday for Warrior Briseida Sandoval. She scored off a corner kick.

The Warriors travel to Granger tomorrow for a non-league match. They go to Kiona-Benton today for a SCAC East match.