MATTAWA — The Wahluke Warriors soccer team earned a 13-0 victory against Zillah on Friday continuing their successful season and putting their record at 8-2. 

“I think we did really good,” said Warriors player Diego Perez. “We had really good energy and I think that’s what really helped us.” 

The Warriors took a strong lead ending the first half 9-0 and continued to control the field as they went into the second half putting up four more points by the end of the game.  

“(It) was a solid game, solid performance for us,” said Warriors head coach Cele Lopez. “We tried different things to attack, and it worked out pretty good for us.” 

Lopez said the team did very good on transitions where they would be able to assess a situation on when they should attack versus when they should go on the defensive. Improving their transitioning has been something they had been working on leading into this game. 

Their defensive front put up a strong performance against Zillah stealing possession multiple times and holding their opponents to no scores by the end of the game. In the past they had made simple mistakes that led to goals, but in this game, they had cut those down, said the coach. 

“I think the whole team as a unit looks pretty solid,” he said. 

The team is currently tied for third with Royal City in the South Central Athletic Conference, both with a league record of 6-1.  

Their success so far can be attributed to the players’ desire to win, Lopez said. They have been showing increasing effort levels and a growing hunger for greatness. 

“(It’s) spreading, a couple players are hungry and they’re talking to everyone and it’s just spreading like fire on the team,” he said. “We can give a whole speech as coaches, but when it comes out from a teammate, sometimes you feel it better.” 

Lopez said one of the key players in motivating and pushing the team forward is Perez who is a senior this year.  

“Just by the way he plays, his body language says more than him talking on the field,” said the coach. “Players see him trying hard and everybody wants to play the same way.” 

The warriors are now looking towards their game tonight after a weekend of rest. They hope to get everybody healthy and bring back players who were out on injury, he said. 

Lopez said he feels confident in the team’s abilities moving forward in the season given everything he has been seeing so far. They will be spending their time honing their skills and preparing for whatever lies ahead. 

“There’s no easy teams here in the league, we just have to be prepared and treat everyone with respect and play hard in every single game,” said Lopez. “We need to be ready for whoever’s coming.” 

The Warriors will be on the road tonight against Wapato at 6 p.m. 

Wahluke Roster 

Name, Jersey 

John Prieto, 1  

Leonardo Torres, 2 

Jan Hernandez, 3 

Hector Contreras, 4 

Alexander Adame, 5 

Alex Acevedo, 6 

Diego Perez, 7 

Ethan Moreno, 8 

Christian Anaya, 9 

Alvaro Rodriguez, 10 

Baldrick Gomez, 11 

Rafael Rodriguez, 12 

Luis Corona, 13 

Alan Arroyo, 14 

Christopher Barajas-Ortiz 15 

Icker Lopez, 17 

Alonzo Saavedra, 19 

Franco Perez, 21 

Alexis Zamora, 25 

    Franco Perez moving the ball to Zillah’s side of the field.
  

    Icker Lopez keeps the ball out of his opponent's possession.
  

    Alvaro Rodriguez steals possession of the ball and makes his way to the opposing side of the field.
  

    Alvaro Rodriguez steals possession of the ball and makes his way to the opposing side of the field.
  

    Christian Anaya goes head-to-head in a battle for the ball against a player from Zillah.