Columbus downs HTC, moves to 8-0

After jumping up nine spots in the latest polls, the Columbus boys? soccer team didn?t disappoint on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats found themselves ranked No. 6 in the latest Class 1A polls, and with a convincing 3-0 victory over Holy Trinity (who is also receiving votes in the poll), the Wildcats look as if they are on a roll.

?We are just having fun out here,? Columbus junior Ruben Paz said. ?There?s no better feeling than winning, and that?s what we want to do. We just want to play high school soccer.?

Columbus improved to 8-0 with the victory, with Warren Krieger-Coble posting his fifth shutout of the year with four saves. The Wildcats have allowed one or fewer goals in regulation in every contest this year.

The Wildcats started off their contest against Holy Trinity with strong offensive pressure, and 17 minutes into the game, drew a penalty on HTC, earning a direct kick from just outside the box.

Wildcat junior Erick Cantarerro used a perfect lob shot to get the ball over the wall and just over the outstretched hands of the HTC keeper, putting Columbus on the board.

The 1-0 lead held until halftime, and in the second half, the Wildcats continued with their dominance.

Offensive pressure in the second half led to the ball finding the foot of Diego Sanchez from 10 yards out, when he fired a rocket into the right side of the net, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.

Columbus iced it with a goal from Paz with a minute to go in the game.

?We are playing as a team,? Columbus head coach Luis Cacho said. ?Again, I?m still saying that the work we did in the preseason is responsible. Today was a big challenge because Holy Trinity was coming for us. We played well and tried to play the ball in space, and had to spread things out.?

As the Wildcats celebrate their victory, they know there is still work to do, with half of the season remaining.

?We have a lot of confidence, but we can?t let that get to us,? Paz said. ?It?s still soccer, and not everything is going to go your way. Other teams can counter on your mistakes, so we have to keep working.?

When deciding what they still need to work on, the Wildcat players were quick to respond.

?Our weakness at this point is passing the ball,? Cantarerro said. ?We have to go up and down the field and communicate more.?

The Wildcats have wins against Central Lee, West Liberty, Danville and Mid-Prairie already under their belts this season, and look to be a dangerous team come postseason time.

However, they all know that success won?t come without winning more games to set themselves up for a run to the state tournament.

?It means a lot to all of us, because the past few seasons we?ve been struggling to find a good defense,? Paz said. ?This season, we are just having fun. We are working together a lot and we have great chemistry so far.?

The Wildcats will be in action at Highland on Thursday night, as they look to move to 9-0 on the year.