Tiger soccer team shuts out 19th-ranked NOC-Tonkawa

In a battle of ranked teams, the No. 13-ranked Cowley College men's soccer team shut out 19^th-ranked Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa 4-0 Saturday in Tonkawa, OK.

The victory improves Cowley's record to 6-0, while the Mavs fall to 7-2.

"This was a good statement win for us," Cowley head coach Ruy Vaz said. "We asserted our dominance the entire game against a ranked team."

Cowley got a goal from freshman Hideto Gondo early in Saturday's game and appeared ready to go into halftime with the one-goal lead. However, Takeru Moriyama scored the Tigers' second goal just two seconds before halftime.

"Takeru keeps us balanced and ran the show for us," Vaz said.

Kristian Eliasen and Manuel Vale added second half goals for the Tigers as they cruised to their fourth shutout of the season.

The goal was the third of the season for Eliasen and first of the year for Vale.

"It is good to have different people scoring goals for us," Vaz said.

Rafael Furlani stopped the only two shots he faced as Cowley dominated the game.

Cowley will put its unbeaten record on the line when they host No. 9-ranked Monroe College (NY) Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Arkansas City High School soccer field.

"This will be a special game for us as Monroe is at the national tournament every year," Vaz said. "We will need the support of our fans as this will be a big test for us to see where we are at as a team."