Tiger soccer team bounces back from lone defeat
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Kansas City Kansas Community College (2-3-1, 1-3-1) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
|
Cowley County Community College (8-1-0, 5-1-0) | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Coming off its first loss of the season, the No. 5-ranked Cowley College men's soccer team had a nice response as they returned to the field to defeat Kansas City Kansas Community College 4-2 Wednesday night at the Mark A. Phillips Athletic Complex.
"The guys did not show any signs of a hangover from the loss to Barton; they were ready to return to the field," Cowley head coach Ruy Vaz said.
The Tigers are now 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Jayhawk Conference.
On Wednesday, the lone goal of the first half came when the Tigers' Thiago Apolinario scored off an assist from Sora Funakoshi.
Cowley's Vitor Hugo Lopes would give the Tigers some breathing room as he scored three minutes into the second half to increase the lead to 2-0.
A goal by Kansas City's Aaron Jackson pulled the Blue Devils within 2-1 with 34:57 remaining, but once again, Vitor Hugo Lopes scored off the second assist of the game from Sota Nakazono to increase the Tigers' lead to 3-1 with 14:35 left to play.
"Vitor Hugo is relentless and is non-stop on the field," Vaz said.
Kansas City continued to battle and pulled within 3-2 on a goal by Noah Conover with 6:48 remaining. However, Cowley's Carlos Noboa would seal the victory by scoring off an assist from Sora Funakoshi with just over two minutes left.
"That goal helped us put our head on the pillow and finally rest a bit," Vaz said. "Sora (Funakoshi) has been our most consistent player and continues to make things happen," Vaz said.
Kansas City falls to 2-3-1 overall and 1-3-1 in the conference.
Tiger goalkeeper Kamy Ndione recorded five saves in the victory.
Cowley will prepare to play defending national champion and No. 6-ranked Iowa Western Community College (3-1-1) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Council Bluffs, IA.
"It will be one of the most watched junior college soccer games of the season," Vaz said. "They are a well-coached, physical, disciplined team. We need to play this type of opponent to prepare us for later in the season."
Photo Credit: Aigiza Nasyrova