Columbus uses defense to advance

Defense has been the key to the Columbus boys? soccer teams? success this season, and it was on full display on Wednesday night.

In a substate semifinal game, the Wildcats only needed one goal to get past HTC, claiming a 1-0 victory, and advancing to the substate finals on Saturday.

?It means a lot,? Columbus head coach Luis Cacho said. ?It means that we?ve been working hard and I?ve told the boys that we need to stay with our philosophy, and that?s consistent defense. We played our game with strong defense, and that helped us.?

After withstanding an early push from HTC, the Wildcats shifted the momentum in their favor for the rest of the half, earning numerous opportunities.

Thirteen minutes into the game, the Wildcats made a strong push, and with a couple of crossing opportunities, created a rebound chance for Diego Sanchez who was free at the top of the 18-yard box, and he connected for the Wildcats? lone goal of the game.

?The goal was brought by the whole team,? Sanchez said. ?Everyone participated in the play, and we got a lot of opportunities, and maybe we should have scored more, but the biggest thing is that we won and we?ll move on to the next game.?

In the second half, HTC and Columbus traded numerous possessions, but the Wildcat defense was stout and turned their opponent away.

The win pushes Columbus to Saturday?s substate final, where they will face Albia, who knocked off Danville 2-0 to move on. The game will be hosted in Columbus.