MATTAWA — The Wahluke Warriors (5-2-1) defeated the Zillah Leopards soundly 8-0 on Monday. Head Coach Cele Lopez said his players responded well to a recent 3-2 loss at home against Connell Friday.   

“It definitely went better than Friday. Overall, the team played a little bit more compact. It's a small field at Zillah and we found a different way to connect some passes and find some (scoring) options,” Cele said.   

The Warriors stormed the pitch with an aggressive attack that also limited Zillah on defense throughout the game. Five players contributed to the overall score, while also being assisted by the Leopards who unintentionally put the ball into their own net to give the Warriors an additional point.   

“We have a couple of guys that are stepping it up,” Cele said. “We hear a guy talking to everyone, a guy motivating, a guy saying (something) positive, and definitely is passing around all over the team.”   

Coming into this game, the Warriors anticipated the smaller field being a challenge for them, the coach said. However, they rose to that challenge starting in the first half with three goals by halftime. Lopez and the WHS fiddled with their game plan to make the necessary adjustments.   

“I changed the formation a little bit, I put more options, more numbers on top, and it worked out really good for us,” he said. “There was (still) a lot of close space and everything, but at the end, it worked out pretty good. I was talking to the boys about being compacted when we don't have the ball, and it worked out pretty good on a small field.”  

Wahluke rode this momentum into the second half where they scored five more points to secure the shutout victory. Contributing to their win was Alan Arroyo, Jan Hernandez, Hector Contreras, Baldrick Gomez and Icker Lopez. The latter two scored twice for the Warriors.   

Assisting with a few goals were Hernandez and Icker, who had two assists of his own. Cele was not surprised to see him contributing to the scoreboard in various ways, calling him their MVP last season.   

“I try to give him some freedom. I know most of the teams are going to double mark (or) triple mark, and he's going to be busy. He's going to have his hands full, so that creates a lot of space for other players to shine as well,” Cele said.   

Cele and the Warriors utilized this to their advantage to give other players opportunities to contribute on the pitch. As they go through the season, Cele is always looking for ways to challenge his players to improve, he said. Which is why at one point, he took Icker out of the game temporarily to see how they would respond.   

“I pulled him out of the game as well to see how we react with not having Icker on the field, and it worked out pretty good. We scored a couple goals without him, but overall he makes the team look a little bit better,” he said.   

The Warriors return to play on Thursday when they hit the road against the Warden Cougars at 6 p.m. As they progress further into the season, Cele wants to continue seeing his team learn from any mistakes they make.   

“I told the boys that mistakes are part of the game. They're going to keep happening. Hopefully we're practicing hard enough, and the boys are locked in enough just to clear those mistakes away,” he said. “I’m optimistic with the team, and I'm happy with the way things are happening. A couple of losses doesn't define us as a team.”  

BOX SCORE:   

ZLLH: 0-0: 0  

WHLK: 3-5: 8

    The Wahluke Warriors’ Rafael Rodriguez (12) races a Royal defender for the ball during their game earlier this season.
  

    The Wahluke Warriors’ Hector Contreras (4) pushes the ball up the field as Royals Jeonatan Dircio (26) chases closes behind during their game earlier this season.