Wildcats blank Demon boys in season opener

In the first game of the year, the Washington boys? soccer team ran into a brick wall on Tuesday night.

Columbus keeper Warren Krieger-Coble (who attends Winfield-Mt. Union) posted a clean sheet in the Wildcats opener, as Columbus handed the Demons a 3-0 loss to open the season.

?It?s Warren?s first game (with us),? Columbus head coach Luis Cacho said. ?He did a nice job, but there?s always room for improvement. It?s the beginning of the season. We have a few young kids that we are going to be working with and I think we?ll do a good job this season.?

The Demons were able to notch six shots on goal in the contest, but the ball didn?t bounce the right way, as they fell to 0-1 to start the season.

?We told them to keep their chins up,? first-year head coach Sally Hart said. ?They worked hard, they all did. We had quite a few guys in, and it?s tough, especially with quite a few freshmen in the lineup. We are looking forward to Friday (against Highland).?

The Wildcats and Demons played to a draw for the first 20 minutes of the game, but in the 24th minute, Alejandro Hernandez broke the scoreless tie, notching his first goal of the year to give Columbus the lead.

A few minutes later, Columbus notched a second goal on a corner kick from Adrian Santos. The ball crossed over the box and found Eric Cantarero, who punched it in for a goal to give Columbus a 2-0 lead.

Cantarero was crucial to Columbus? success in the game, notching the goal and a pair of assists in the contest.

?We decided to keep our wingers wide, and that helped us out because we were spread out and we could capitalize on that,? Cacho said. ?It?s the beginning of the season. We have a few young kids that we are going to be working with and I think we?ll do a good job this season.?

After the break, the Demons gave up a goal to Diego Sanchez, who headed the ball into the net in the 48th minute.

Washington started to get more pressure after that, but Krieger-Coble kept the Demons out of the net, securing the Wildcat win.

Despite the loss, Hart said she thought the team worked well together.

?Our teamwork stood out to me,? Hart said. ?We are working together and we just have to keep pushing hard. I think there were some first-game jitters. We just have to take a few more outside shots. We have the foot, we just held onto the ball a little too long.?

Looking ahead, Columbus will face IMS (1-1) on Thursday and is looking to build off a strong start to the season.

?(The win) increases the confidence and we know we are going to have to work hard to beat other teams,? Cacho said. ?The kids want to work harder and we are looking forward to the next game.?

Washington will look to Friday, when it travels to face Highland (0-1) in a Washington County matchup, where the Demons will try to notch their first win.

?We are going to be working on closing down on the defender, and not give them as much time to get what they need,? Hart said. ?We need to take some more outside shots.?