Lady Tigers dominate Seward in 3-0 home win
Outshooting Seward County 32-7 on Wednesday at the Mark A. Phillips Athletic Complex, the No. 7-ranked Cowley College women’s soccer team had no trouble remaining unbeaten with a 3-0 victory over the Seward County Saints.
"I was pleased with the performance and how we controlled the rhythm of the game," Cowley head coach Roberto dos Santos said. "We defended well and created opportunities to score."
The Lady Tigers are now 7-0-3 overall and 7-0-2 in the Jayhawk Conference and have a seven-point lead over second-place Butler (5-3-1 in the conference). Seward is now 4-6 overall and 3-6 in the conference.
Cowley got the scoring started in the opening minute of Wednesday's game as Sophie Knabb scored her second goal of the season to give the Lady Tigers the early lead.
"That goal by Sophie gave us a confidence boost," dos Santos said.
Cowley sophomore Sthefany Silva increased the Lady Tigers' lead to 2-0 when she blasted in a free kick from 35 yards out with 22:18 left in the first half.
"Sthefany has been a tremendous leader for the team," dos Santos said. "Not only is she valuable in the back, she is a real threat on those long shots."
Freshman Saki Sanno added her sixth goal of the season with a little more than four minutes left in the opening half as Cowley went into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
The Lady Tigers continued to dominate the game, outshooting Seward 14-3 in a scoreless second half.
Freshman goalkeeper Julia Suelly stopped all four shots she faced while recording her sixth shutout of the season.
"We have a good defense led by Stefany Silva, Sara Arsee, and Julia, who has played well in goal," dos Santos said.
The Lady Tigers will face a tough road test at Butler (6-6-3) on Saturday at 7 p.m. in El Dorado, KS. The Grizzlies are in second place in the conference with a record of 5-3-1.
"With Butler being second in the conference, they will be motivated to play us," dos Santos said. "We need to be focused and ready to play."