ROYAL CITY — Three first-half goals against College Place were enough to push the Knights over the Eagles in Saturday’s South Central Athletic Conference (East) matchup, with Royal going on to win 5-1.

The Knights came out strong on the attack with numerous shots on the College Place net, scoring goals in the third, 22nd and 35th minutes of the first half.

“It was good to get the early one, but sometimes the early one is tough if you don’t get another one right after because it’s a long time to ride on that goal,” Royal Head Coach Jens Jensen said. “When you have chances and chances and you don’t convert, sometimes it comes back to bite you. There were a few sticky moments, but luckily we got the second one.”

Junior Victor Aquino netted Royal’s first goal of the afternoon, flying past the College Place defenders and connecting on a shot to the left of the outstretched Eagle goalkeeper.

“It was my first time (having) a solo goal like that,” Aquino said. “When I scored it, it didn’t feel real. I did my little celebration — I guess that’s my signature celebration now.”

Senior Freddy Cabrera scored Royal’s second goal of the game in the 22nd minute, pushing the lead to 2-0. Cabrera scored a second goal later in the second half.

“I feel like it brought more confidence to the team, and made the game more comfortable: got is out of their reach,” Cabrera said. 

The Eagles added a goal of their own in the 28th minute, scoring against the run of play to cut the Royal lead to 2-1. 

Royal once again took a two-goal lead after senior Santiago Gonzalez scored on a penalty kick in the 35th minute.

“As far as us, it’s about not allowing ourselves to feel frustrated – they scored, it was a deflection off of a defender and wrong-footed the keeper,” Jensen said. “Instead of looking at that and saying ‘Oh, they scored,’ we look at that and say ‘We shouldn’t have fouled.’ That’s what we talking about at halftime; it’s just not a good place to foul. You’ve got to be resilient enough mentally to not let a mistake define the entire game.”

Already up 3-1, the Knights added second-half goals by senior Jose Victoriano and Cabrera, scoring in the 55th and 67th minutes, respectively. 

Both Aquino and Cabrera said Royal’s fast start to the game was a key factor in the win.

“It helps us set the mood so that later on in the game we can be more comfortable,” Aquino said. “Especially if we finish those chances, we can be more comfortable towards the end — keep the ball, move it around in order for the other team to get tired quicker.”

“We make the team chase the game instead of us having to chase the game and trying to catch up on goals,” Cabrera said. 

The Royal defense limited shot opportunities for College Place; Jensen credited junior Trent Jensen and senior Case Christensen for their performances as defenders.

“Those two guys, they have good size and they’re quicker than you think … if you have a team that wants to play more direct, or that’s more their hope, those guys tend to be able to soak up a lot of those balls,” Jensen said. 

With the win, the Knights improve to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the SCAC (East) with league wins over Connell (2-0), Mabton (2-1), Kiona-Benton (9-0) and now College Place. Even with a strong start to the year, Jensen said the focus remains on the postseason.

“It’s one game at a time; we’ve got a good mix of guys this year,” Jensen said. “A good mix of size, speed, strength, skill, and I’ve got a bench that’s pretty deep. I don’t know that we’re necessarily thinking about the record, I think we’re more worried about (playing in) May.”

Royal hosts Wahluke Tuesday night in a league game; the Warriors have started the season 7-1, with their lone loss coming to Warden on March 19.

Kickoff between the Knights and Warriors is at 6 p.m. in Royal City.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box score

CP: 1-0 1
RYL: 3-2 5

    Royal senior Freddy Cabrera (8) netted two goals in Saturday’s 5-1 defeat of College Place.
  

    Royal senior Santiago Gonzalez (12) scores on a penalty kick in the first half against College Place Saturday.
  

    Royal junior Alexis Gonzalez (19) defends against a College Place player during Saturday’s match.