Tiger soccer team opens with 5-0 road win

The No. 19-ranked Cowley College men's soccer team used a big second half to win its season-opener at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College by a score of 5-0 Wednesday in Miami, OK.

Freshman Kristian Eliasen scored the lone goal of the first half as he scored off an assist from Murilo Ramos to put Cowley ahead 1-0.

"We had some nerves and did not play with the intensity needed in that first half," Cowley head coach Ruy Vaz said.

Freshman Caique Trivelato added a pair of goals in the first 17 minutes of the second half and Cowley rolled to the 5-0 victory.

"Caique is a big-time player that knows how to score goals," Vaz said.

The Tigers would also get goals from Masaya Sekiguchi and Luis Rodrigues as they moved to 1-0 on the season.

"Assistant coach Tanner Brock and I had a great conversation at halftime and brought the guys back from the clouds," Vaz said. "It was good to see the way the guys responded in the second half."

Vaz played nearly his entire roster in the season-opening win.

"Our depth was key," Vaz said. "We love to give our players time in the regular season so they understand the adrenaline needed to play with."

Sophomore goalkeeper Andre Luiten stopped all three shots he faced as Cowley out-shot NEO 12-3.

The Tigers will return to action Saturday when they play at Allen Community College at 4 p.m. in Iola, KS. The Red Devils are ranked No. 15 in the NJCAA Division II preseason poll.

"Allen will be a very difficult opponent and will provide a good test for us," Vaz said.