Lady Tiger soccer makes it three straight conference titles with win over Hutchinson

Getting goals from three different players in a 3-0 win over Hutchinson Community College Saturday in Arkansas City, the No. 13-ranked Cowley College women's soccer team captured its third straight conference title.

The Lady Tigers (12-1-1), winners of six games in a row, is now 11-1 in the Jayhawk Conference Western Division. Prior to head coach Roberto dos Santos taking over as the women's head coach in 2018, Cowley had lost 22 of its previous 25 conference games.

Now, just four years into his tenure as head coach, dos Santos has led Cowley to three straight conference titles and wins in 31 of its past 37 conference games.

"It is kind of surreal," Dos Santos said. "It has been a combination of things that have led us to this point, but the girls do a good job of bringing their intensity from practice to the games. It is hard to believe where the program was when I took over to where it is now."

On Saturday, Marta Aranda got the scoring started with 18:07 remaining in the opening half. Aranda scored her second goal of the season off an assist from Manuela Oliveira.

"We came out flat to start the game, but Marta's goal was the boost we needed," Dos Santos said.

The Lady Tigers would add a second goal in the closing minutes of the first half as Gabrielle Oliveira scored off an assist from Natalia Lima.

The score would remain 2-0 until Elsa Pelicant capped the win by scoring her sixth goal of the season with eight minutes left. Oliveira's goal was also her sixth of the season.

Cowley goalkeeper Makayla Farquharson also performed well as she stopped both shots she faced and recorded her ninth shutout of the season.

"Our first line of defense is doing a phenomenal job and Makayla keeps doing what she does," Dos Santos said.

The loss drops Hutchinson's record to 6-5-1 overall and 5-5-1 in the Jayhawk West.

"Hutchinson is a good team that continued to battle throughout," Dos Santos said.

Cowley will wrap up the regular season by hosting No. 17-ranked Barton at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Cougars (11-2-1) are second in the Jayhawk West with a record of 8-2-1 and handed Cowley its lone loss of the season in a 1-0 setback September 29 in Great Bend, KS.

"This game is kind of personal to the girls," Dos Santos said. "We do not want them to come here and win on our field."