MATTAWA — The Wahluke Warriors boys soccer team showed up with a point to prove as they were victorious over the Wapato Wolves, resulting in a 3-1 final score. The Warriors started fast as they jumped out to a three-goal lead before the end of the first half.  

“It was a good, tough game, and I think we showed up really well prepared. I want to say, this is the first match of the season that we showed up hungry, like, super hungry, trying to make a statement, and I think that worked out pretty good,” coach Cele Lopez said.  

The Warriors felt compelled to make a statement heading into this matchup due to the implications it had on the rest of the season, the coach said. The Wolves were undefeated in conference play and coming out on top was a big win for Wahluke’s season.  

Lopez took note of their slower performance in the second half and will look to focus on keeping momentum throughout the entirety of the game.  

“I can understand that we cannot play at the same rhythm every game or the whole game, but we need to get better at how we are measuring when we're slowing down, or we're taking some of the intensity on the attack, and we gotta get more compact at the bottom [of the field] because I feel that we're an offensive team, but like yesterday, we relaxed and we allowed the other team to take advantage of that,” Lopez said.  

The Warriors are gearing up for another big game against the Highland Scotties, Cowiche, who are also undefeated in conference play. The result of that game will likely determine who sits atop the league.  

However, before they can fully turn their focus to the Scotties, the Warriors will need to go through the La Salle Lightning on April 17, Lopez said.