WARDEN — The Warden Cougars (3-6) defeated the Connell Eagles 2-1 on Saturday after penalty kicks decided the game in overtime. Win or lose, Head Coach Marco Landeros said, he was proud of his team for their effort.

“Trusting each other and communicating better in the field, and I think that’s what gave us the win,” Landeros said. “Everyone was playing 110%, so I think it was a really good game for us.”

The two teams brought their best to the pitch as they each found a way to score in the first half. For the Cougars, Hunter Golladay battled for control of the ball before capitalizing on an opening that put them on the board.

The Eagles were able to tie the game up 1-1 by halftime. Despite a tied game, Landeros was confident they could pull out the win because of their improved communication, he said.

“I was happy; it wouldn’t matter what our results were. I was happy how they were just communicating ... I like that,” Landeros said. “If we don’t talk on the field, it’s going to be almost impossible to make the team understand themselves.”

The second half went scoreless despite each team’s best efforts to claim the lead. The Cougars and the Eagles would go into overtime tied 1-1. Even after a pair of five-minute periods, the two teams had to settle the game in a penalty kick shootout. Each team would have five opportunities to kick a penalty shot; the team with the most scores would win.

The Cougars earned their second point after scoring on all five attempts and Connell only made four, which sealed the win. Landeros said his players showed an impressive amount of endurance as they were pulled into deeper waters.

“They were so excited,” he said. “I did not feel my team get tired. We practice a lot of conditioning. That’s what helped us. The last couple of years, our enemy was conditioning. (In) the last 20 minutes of games, they couldn’t do any more; they couldn’t keep up. From the beginning of this (season) when I got the head coach position, I started doing conditioning and then at the end of this game I did not see my team tired at all.”

Coming into this matchup, Landeros and the Cougars have been focused on improving communication during games and starting stronger in the first half, he said. They have discussed in what ways they could improve in those areas, but it was going to come down to the players implementing it when it counted.

“There are some things I could teach you in practice, like drills... and running and all the little things you guys know already, but I cannot teach you how to talk on the field,” he said.

When they took to the pitch, that’s exactly what they did, and Landeros could not be happier, he said.

After spring break, the Warden Cougars return to the pitch against La Salle on April 14 on the road at 6 p.m. As they embark on the second half of the season, they hope to carry this momentum forward.

“I’m happy with what I saw on Saturday, and I hope to keep it going with those same results, it’s totally on them. If they show up to practice, if they are ready to practice, one thing is showing up to practice, and one another thing is to be ready for practice. I hope they show up and (are) ready for it, and we can see more wins,” he said.

BOX SCORE:

CNNL: 1-0-0-0-0: 1

WRDN: 1-0-0-0-1: 2

    The Warden Cougars’ Alfredo Mora (18) pushes the ball up the field against the Royal Knights earlier this season. Head Coach Marco Landeros said his players improved their communication on the field against Connell.
  

    Jose Perez (10) chases down the ball against the Wahluke Warriors.
  

    The Cougars’ Daniel Delacruz (8) boots the ball back into play against the Royal Knights earlier this season.