Lady Tiger soccer team erupts for 6-0 win over Barton
The top-seeded Cowley College women’s soccer team scored five goals in the first half of its game against fourth-seeded Barton on Wednesday in Arkansas City and cruised to a 6-0 win over the Cougars in the semifinals of the Plains District Tournament.
Cowley remains unbeaten on the season with a record of 13-0-4 and advances to face second-seeded Hutchinson on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Kansas City, KS. The winner of Saturday's game will get an automatic berth to the national tournament. Barton finishes the season with a record of 12-8-2.
On Wednesday, Cowley got the 18th goal of the season from Sara Cortes in the game's first seven minutes. Saki Sanno scored Cowley's second goal off an assist from Riko Saito prior to sophomore Louyse Cristine scoring a pair of first-half goals.
"Louyse not only scored the two goals, she made some plays in the midfield and did well defensively," Cowley head coach Roberto dos Santos said.
Saito would get into the scoring with 10 seconds left before halftime and only 19 seconds after Cristine's second goal as the Lady Tigers led 5-0.
"The intensity and focus the girls played with was the key," dos Santos said.
Midway through the second half, Sanno capped the scoring by adding her second goal of the game on an assist from Mariangela Lopez. Sanno now has 13 goals and 13 assists on the season.
"Saki is a terrific kid and a leader on this team," dos Santos said.
Freshman Julia Suelly stopped the only shot she faced while recording her ninth shutout of the season.
Cowley, winners of six games in a row, faced Hutchinson twice during the regular season, tying the Blue Dragons 2-2 in Ark City and winning on the road by a score of 2-1. The Blue Dragons are 13-2-4 on the season.
"Hutchinson is a good team that is well coached," dos Santos said. "It should be another good game, so we will need to be prepared."