September 5, 2008

Tiger men’s soccer makes history, wins first ever game

Playing in front of a boisterous home crowd, the Cowley College men’s soccer team gave the fans something to cheer about as they defeated Independence Community College 3-1 in the program’s first ever soccer game.

“The guys came in ready to play and as a coach that is all you can ask,” Cowley head coach Roberto Dos Santos said. “They were hungry and executed a lot of the things we have been training on.”

Scoreless nearly 20 minutes into the game, Cowley got on the board first as Joao Bacchi directed a corner kick into the center of the field where Nick Sobba went up high to head the ball into the corner of the net.

“That header was timed perfect and Joao was able to make the cross exactly where it needed to be,” Dos Santos said.

Cowley increased its lead to 2-0 on a goal from Keegan Cornelius with 17:47 remaining in the first half. Sobba was credited for the assist.

The Tigers’ Eddie Mora made the score 3-0 as he scored off a pass from Orlando Colina with 27 minutes left to play. The Pirates’ lone goal came when Antonio Carlos scored on a penalty kick with 19 minutes remaining.

Cowley out-shot Independence 7-2, as the Tigers’ Blake Anderson was rarely threatened in goal. The victory makes Cowley 1-0 overall and in the Jayhawk Conference. Independence drops to 2-1 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.

“We need to thank our athletic department and our administration for their support,” Dos Santos said. “Our facilities are great and it was wonderful to have such a big crowd.”

Cowley will return to action Monday when they play at Allen County Community College at 4 p.m.

“We told the guys now it will be harder for us because before nobody knew us, but now people will scout us and be able to prepare for us,” Dos Santos said. “We hope to keep up the intensity level and fix some of the problems we have. The guys are embracing the challenge.”