The Warriors picked up a third-place finish in the MCCC Tournament this weekend as the team defeated Central Christian College 4-1 on Saturday afternoon in Ankeny, IA.
“It’s good to get a win like this,” Warrior Head Coach Jayke Maples said. “We worked so hard this season and we truly have grown.” The Warriors came into the match on the heels of a heartbreaking 1-2 loss to the Faith Eagles in the conference semifinals yesterday. As the team took the pitch against the Saints, they looked to get the 3rd place finish to finish their season on a positive note.
From the opening kickoff, the Warriors came out strong with good possession and passing which created lanes to score. The team was able to continually pressure the Saints net and broke into the scoring column when Cobi Keel buried an absolute screamer in the net from 25 yards out.
The Warriors continued to possess the ball well as they outshot the Saints by a substantial margin in the opening half. Despite all the chances to score, the Warriors couldn’t add to their lead, and they went into halftime up 1-0.
In the second half, the Warriors came out looking to stretch their lead. Jeovany Castillo found the ball on the right side of the box. He took on a defender and rifled the ball across the six-yard line to find a sliding Bayron Mendez who found the back of the net to go up 2-0.
Soon after that second goal, Keel played the ball to Mendez on the left and Bayron saw the open net and he tucked it away to secure his brace as CU went up 3-0. The Saints tried to claw their way back into the game and answered the Warrior goals with a nice goal off a deflection. That was the last goal Calvary would allow, however. The Warriors dug in their heels defensively as Kobe Borden played well on the backline to turn aside opportunities.
The Warriors weren’t quite done on the scoring side as the game was winding down. Keel played a through ball in and found Wade Smith who finessed the ball past the keeper to secure his first career goal. As a result, the Warriors came away with a 4-1 victory thanks to a great performance by the team.
“I am grateful that God gave me a group of guys with coachable attitudes in my first season here”, stated Maples. It has made the season so enjoyable. They did everything I asked for and more. We are building something special here and look forward with anticipation!”
