MATTAWA — The Wahluke Warriors (9-7) earned a crucial win Saturday, putting together a dominant 7-0 victory over the Wapato Wolves. This comes after a tough 4-3 loss to Cascade (Leavenworth) in the opening round of the District 5 1A Girls Soccer Tournament. 

"We competed in that game (against Cascade), we forced them to overtime, we blinked for a second and we ended up losing on a corner kick," Head Coach Cele Lopez said. "The girls never gave up, and that means a lot for any team. That's what you want to see, especially in districts. So far, I'm happy with the girls. I see a lot of progress (and) I see a lot of dedication." 

After coming just short in overtime, Wahluke went back to work. With hopes of an appearance in the state tournament still alive, Lopez and the Warriors went back to the drawing board to see how they could approach the game in new ways, he said.  

"I switched formation according to the players that we had available and the skills that they have, and we were adapting quick to it, and I think it's working out really good for us," said the coach.  

With a strong mindset, the Warriors built a commanding 4-0 lead by halftime over the Wolves, according to the coach. From there, they were able to add three more goals in the second half to storm their way into the next round of the consolation bracket. 

"It was a dominant win, and I think we could have scored more, but we were working on a different way to attack," Lopez said. "We just put one more girl at the center mid. We try to have control of the center mid for a little bit longer... I think we found some balance." 

Lopez shared high praise for his senior group for stepping up as leaders not only in the playoffs, but all season long.  

"We have a really good generation of seniors," he said. "We're going to lose seven starters, and everybody's trying to do their best leading (by) example for the future generation. You cannot ask for more than that." 

Now the Warriors turn their focus to Nov. 3 when they travel to play the Naches Valley Rangers, which is coming off a narrow 1-0 loss to the Royal Knights on Saturday. The two teams have faced each other a pair of times this season, with NVHS coming out victorious 3-2 and 2-1. 

With how he's seen his players respond throughout the season, Lopez has a lot of confidence they can bring the fight on Tuesday.  

"Versus Natchez, it's a boost of confidence for everyone. We forced them to overtime here at home. We ended up losing on the last minute of the game before PKs, and we went to Natchez and we lost," said the coach. "But we created a lot of options. We were there knocking at the door when the game ended. So I'm excited actually. It's really hard to beat a team three times in a row, hopefully the girls show up to battle. We're there to compete. We still have another chance, even if the score doesn't go our way, it's important that we can show some resilience." 

One player the Warriors may lean on is Ashya Erazo, who has come up big for the team several times this season, Lopez said.  

"She's having a good season. She sacrificed her position to play center back for us sometimes," he said. "She's a great leader. She's a captain. She's a senior, I mean, all the seniors I consider the face of the team. I have seven starting seniors, and they make a big difference on the team." 

The Warriors kick off their game against the Rangers at 6 p.m. 

BOX SCORE: 

WHLK: 4-3: 7 

WPTO: 0-0: 0 

    Morgan Harlow (16) chases down the ball during Wahluke's game against the Royal Knights earlier this season.