Tigers improve to 10-1 with a 4-0 win at Garden City

Coming off a huge road win at No. 6-ranked Iowa Western on Wednesday, the No. 5-ranked Cowley College men's soccer team showed no signs of a letdown in a 4-0 win at Garden City on Saturday.

The victory, Cowley's third in a row, improves the Tigers' record to 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the Jayhawk Conference. Cowley remains second in the conference, just behind Barton Community College (6-0-1).

On Saturday, Cowley got a first-half goal from Sora Funakoshi to take a 1-0 halftime lead. The goal by Funakoshi was his team-leading seventh of the season.

The Tigers would add to their lead less than three minutes into the second half when Yuto Toyoizumi scored off an assist from Thiago Apolinario. It was then Apolinario's turn to get in on the fun as he scored with 18 minutes left to put Cowley in front 3-0. The goal was the sixth of the season for Apolinario.

Shogo Haraikawa would score his fifth goal off an assist from Bruno Fornes, capping the scoring as Cowley recorded its seventh shutout of the season.

"It was a solid performance; the boys seem to be understanding what we want from them more," Cowley head coach Ruy Vaz said. "We had to overcome bad wind and a long drive."

Garden City falls to 6-4-4 overall and 0-4-3 in the conference.

The Tigers will return home to face Seward County Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Saints (5-5-2) are just 1-5-1 in the conference.

"Seward is a very energetic team with many feisty players," Vaz said. "The key to do well in this game is to stay composed in all phases. We will keep working hard to put away the chances we get."

Photo Credit: Aigiza Nasyrova