Soccer (Boys V)

In a Battle of Howard County Rivals, Kokomo Nips Northwestern 1-0

By Aaron Blessing | Aug 21, 2025 9:47 PM

In a Battle of Howard County Rivals, Kokomo Nips Northwestern 1-0 The Kokomo Wildkats traveled to county rival Northwestern and defeated the Tigers 1-0 and earned their first victory and shutout of the season. Kokomo controlled the tempo and possession early, and held the Tiger attack in check for the first twenty minutes of play. At the twenty minute mark, junior midfielder Gael Cordero beat his mark at the top of the box and slotted home the game winner in the lower right hand corner of the goal. It was a tremendous strike! The Northwestern attack came to life in the latter half of the first half, but Senior goalkeeper Alan Lopez kept a clean sheet in the first half to preserve the lead. In the second half, Kokomo hung on - barely, but it was a dogfight. Northwestern rallied and began to play very direct, looking for a big ball over the top to their forwards. Kokomo’s Lopez and junior back Augie Gruber responded time and gain, thwarting the Tiger forwards. Although the Wildkats created a few scoring chances, they let a golden one get away when they missed a penalty kick. Later, after Lopez turned away a powerful shot, he was forced to leave the match due to injury. Junior keeper Ethan Landrum stepped in and cooly turned away several Tiger shots over the final 13 minutes, recording four saves while preserving the shutout. The Wildkats (1-0-1, 0-0-0) open conference play Saturday at home versus Muncie Central. Your men of the match are senior Alan Lopez and junior Augie Gruber.

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