Tiger soccer team wins battle of ranked opponents
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Monroe College (3-2-0, 0-0) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
|
Cowley County Community College (7-0-0, 3-0) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Separated by only one spot in the national rankings, the No. 10-ranked Cowley College men's soccer team defeated its third ranked opponent on the season as they knocked off No. 9-ranked Monroe College (NY) 3-1 Wednesday at the Arkansas City High School soccer field.
The victory improves Cowley head coach Ruy Vaz's record to 50-8-2 in his three plus seasons at the school.
"Assistant coach Tanner Brock and I love Cowley and are establishing something strong here," Vaz said.
On Wednesday, Monroe got on the board first as Tony Yeboah scored to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead with just over 30 minutes left in the first half.
However, Cowley would respond with back-to-back goals from Caique Trivelato and Luis Rodrigues in just over a minute and a half to lead 2-1 at the end of the first half.
"We kept playing like nothing happened after that first goal and did a good job of sticking to our game plan," Vaz said.
Cowley would put the game away on a goal by Yuzuki Motohashi with less than 15 minutes remaining.
"Those guys that scored for us were pressing high for 90 minutes and that is hard to do," Vaz said.
Tiger goalkeeper Rafael Furlani also played well, stopping five of the six shots he faced.
"Rafael is a wall back there," Vaz said. "When a team breaks our defensive line it feels good knowing Rafael is back there."
Cowley is now 7-0 on the season. Monroe, which won the national championship in 2019, is now 3-2.
The Tigers will not have much time to enjoy the victory as they will host Neosho County Friday at 7 p.m. at the Arkansas City High School soccer field. The Panthers are 3-2-3 on the season.
"Neosho has been our biggest rival since I took over as coach," Vaz said. "They will be very aggressive, so we will need to stay mentally strong and use our depth to our advantage."
