Royal beats Mabton, drops a 2-1 match to Warden
Bob Kirkpatrick/The Sun Tribune - Royals Yajaira Michel and Wardens Bailey Whitney battle over a 50/50 ball in front of the Cougars goal box.
ROYAL CITY — Royal gave Warden all it could handle in a hard physically fought contest on the Knights home turf Thursday evening Sept. 28. The Cougars came into the match on a four game win streak averaging seven goals per contest, but a tough savvy Royal defense held the East Conference second place team to just two.
“Based on the numbers going into the match Warden should have ran rampant on us, but we switched some stuff up and tried to take their weapons out of the match,” coach Jens Jensen said. “We had a number of opportunities in the first half, but one golden chance when Dani Lima got on the end of a low cross from 6-yards out and totally unmarked in the center of the goal. But the ball spun up off the turf just enough to cause her to send her shot wide of the near post.”
The Cougars struck first on a goal from Ashlyn Yamane off a corner kick from Cathy Mendoza 12 minutes into the match. It was the lone score of the first half.
“They gave us little trouble in the first 35 minutes of the first half…we were the ones asking most of the questions of the Warden defense,” Jensen said. “But a right before half we lost our focus defending a corner and the ball got through to the far post. Our keeper looked to have the shot covered, but a deflection off of the outstretched legs of one of our defenders wrong-footed her and Warden went into halftime up 1-0.”
The second goal of the fuss came when a Grace Richins through ball to Aubree Skone who cut inside from the right side and put in a low shot from about 20 yards out to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead in the 54th minute.
“Our keeper was pretty solid all match, but the ball squeezed through her hands and bumbled into the net,” Jensen said. “We are carrying a number of injuries to our first team and we were forced to make changes throughout the second half that hurt us a bit, but for the most part the defense held strong.”
The Knights did catch a little lightening in the bottle with about five minutes left to play when Noelia Juarez latched onto a ball played behind the defense and used her speed to get to the ball before the Cougar goalie did.
“She got a touch to the side of the onrushing keeper made it 2-1,” Jensen said. “While we felt we had a great chance to get an equalizer, our excitement was disruptive to our focus and we began playing sloppy balls and the defensive shape was undisciplined.”
Royal picks up road win on the pitch in Mabton
The Knights got a goals from Lindsey Carrasco and Noelia Juarez and Royal ended a three game skid with a 3-1 win over the Vikings Tuesday, Sept. 26.
Carrasco’s goal off an assist from Alicia Callahan came in the first half of play. The Vikings goal was recorded in the first 40 minutes of the contest as well.
Juarez broke the tie when she converted a second half penalty kick. An own goal from Mabton rounded out the scoring for the Knights.
“Mabton is a frustrating place to play — the field is small and the grass is long,” coach Jens Jensen said. “But a win is a win.”
Othello 3
Royal 0
Royal dropped a 3-0 friendly to Othello Saturday, Sept. 30 as coach Jensen rested most of his starting players. The Knights were back on the pitch at David Nielsen Stadium Tuesday for a league match with Goldendale, but the results were not available at time of press.