ROYAL CITY - Warden High School has one of the better girls soccer teams in the SCAC East, and it showed last week in a 5-1 victory over Royal.

Warden got off to a quick start by scoring two goals in the first eight minutes against a reeling Knights defense. The Cougars cooled a little, then exploded again before half-time.

"While we were not being played off the field, there is little margin for error against the two league leaders (Connell and Warden)," coach Jens Jensen said.

Royal was awarded a penalty at the midway point in the first half following a good run of play that created a number of chances. Royal had the Cougars on their heels for the middle 20 minutes of the half. Flor Araujo converted the penalty and made it 2-1.

Royal made a few substitutions as girls faded a bit in the last 10 minutes of the first half. Warden took advantage with two more goals to put the game out of reach. In the second half Jensen got the reserves some needed playing time.

"It was good to see that the supporting players are making improvements and are hungry to play," he said.

Royal took only one shot for the entire game, the one made by Araujo. Warden took seven shots. Royal goalie Guadalupe Guadarrama had two saves.