WAHLUKE - The Wahluke soccer team continued its dominance of the South Central A Conference with a 1-0 victory over Royal last Thursday in the district championship game.

It was the third meeting between the neighboring rivals and the third one-goal win for the Warriors. The contest went to a shootout before it was settled.

As a result, Wahluke will start the state tournament at home today against Okanogan, the No. 3 team from its district. If the Warriors win, they will host either Highland or Cascade on Saturday.

The semifinals and finals will be played at Sumner the following weekend. Coach Arthur DeVictoria hopes to have his club there. If the Warriors make it, he won't be surprised to see Royal.

First things first, however. DeVictoria sees no pushovers in the tournament. He scouted Okanogan on Saturday and found them well organized.

As for his own team, it is different than last year's state champs. Whether this team is better is a question, but it is more experienced.

"This is not all brand-new to them," DeVictoria said.

Certainly these Warriors are defensive-minded. In two tough games with second-place Royal, they did not give up a goal in regulation play.

Wahluke has been to state 12 times since 1995. It has won two state titles and has placed in the top four at other times. In his 13th year, DeVictoria has been involved in the four state titles.

Royal came hard at the Warriors in the latest challenge. It took 11 shots on goal, forcing Warrior goalie Cesar Tlatelpa to make six saves.

Wahluke had fewer shots with eight, and keeper Lupe Arceo of Royal came up with four saves.

With the score 0-0, Royal and Wahluke went into overtime, then a second overtime and still couldn't settle matters. A shootout was in order.

In 5-on-5 action, each team scored three goals. Both scored again in 1-on-1. Finally, in a second 1-on-1, Wahluke scored to win.

Finding the goal for Royal were Christian Guerrero, Shaq Ledezma, Jose Gaxiola and Alex Ramirez. For Wahluke, the scoring kickers were George Lopez, Heriberto Mendoza, Julio Maldonado, Antonio Ramos and Eugenio Cruz.