No. 4-ranked Tigers knock off 16th-ranked Lewis & Clark 1-0 in season-opener
In a battle of ranked teams, the No. 4-ranked Cowley College men’s soccer team got an early goal from sophomore Kanta Ishii and made the lead stand up in a 1-0 victory at No. 16-ranked Lewis & Clark Community College on Saturday in Godfrey, IL.
Tiger sophomore Kanta Ishii, the Jayhawk Conference Offensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-American during the 2024 season, scored nine minutes into the contest, and Cowley held on for the 1-0 victory.
First-year head coach Marcos Ribeiro was pleased to earn the win in his first game in charge of the program.
"It was important to start the season on a positive note," Ribeiro said. "We were prepared to implement everything we had practiced, but we had to adapt and change our game plan because the field conditions made it impossible to play soccer, which was a bit frustrating."
Due to the sloppy field conditions, both teams found shots on goal hard to come by.
Cowley freshman Lukas Lowry stopped both shots he faced to record the shutout in his first game in goal.
"I am happy with how the boys adapted and fought throughout the entire game," Ribeiro said. "We had chances at the end to score more goals, but what matters most is that we started the season with a win."
Cowley will return home to face Trinidad State College on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Trojans are 0-2 on the season after losing to Jayhawk Conference schools Barton (8-0) and Seward County (2-0).