Royal Knights off to brilliant soccer start of season Warden falls 3-0, Cashmere bounced, 6-0

ROYAL CITY — Six games into the season, the Royal High School soccer team has stamped itself a state tournament contender.

The Knights are 6-0, with victories over powerhouses Highland and Warden. Their last outing, Saturday, was a 6-0 romp over Cashmere.

The Bulldogs must have thought they ran into a cannon. Ten seconds after the opening whistle, Alex Contreras exploded goalward from the right side and shot the ball past the keeper for the quickest goal in school history.

But individually, the afternoon belonged to junior star Michael Rojas, who is quickly becoming a superstar. He scored a hat trick that led to a 5-0 halftime lead.

Rojas, who has knack for knowing where the action is heading, was all over the field, always in the ball’s vicinity. Coach Jens Jensen places him No. 1 in Royal history for that quick, hustling type of player.

Cashmere certainly felt Rojas. When he wasn’t scoring, he was making passes, accepting passes and terrorizing Cashmere offensive players.

Rojas’ first goal was an individual effort that had Jensen saying things he rarely says. Rojas stole the ball from a Cashmere attacker in the Royal half and dribbled 60 yards, beating two defenders to score. It was a long run with a technical finish.

“That was sick, Michael,” Jensen said, not loudly and shaking his head.

It was a compliment of the highest order. Jensen may be running out of things to say. He’s seen this before, during Rojas’ sophomore season and earlier last week.

After Contreras added his second goal in the 1st minute, Rojas went back to work. He scored in the 35th minute and 38th minute, both goals unassisted.

Juan Ojeda scored the sixth goal two minutes into the second half, and Jensen sent his bench onto the field.

The contest was total domination. Cashmere had to make nine saves. Royal keeper C.J. Quintero was force to make only two. Royal took 19 shots to the three by Cashmere.

Earlier last week, Royal notified the SCAC East that there may be a major change in the pecking order. The Knights toppled mighty Warden, 3-0, on the Warden field.

But the first half was a mess. The Knights were tired and had a difficult time getting settled into the match.

“We switched up our tactics for the second half and saw immediate improvement in the number and quality of chances, but it still took a special goal from Michael to unlock things,” Jensen said. “He one-timed an absolute rocket from a loose ball.”

The goal energized the knights, and the rest of the half was all one-way traffic. Jensen and Juan Ojeda combined on a short corner that Alonzo Hernandez was able to help into the net from less than a yard out.

The third goal was another Beauty from Rojas, a dipping ball from 25 yards out that beat the leaping goalkeeper and tucked under the crossbar.