Kokomo Athletics

The Kokomo Wildkats battled a high octane Lebanon Tigers team, but came out on the short end of things, dropping the match to the hosts by a score of 4-2. The Tigers were on the front foot from the beginning, their pace giving the Wildkats fits. Senior keeper and co-captain Alan Lopez was busy early and often, but managed, with the help of his back line and midfielders, to turn away most of the Tiger attacks in the first half. The Kats conceded the first goal of the night in the 26th minute of the first half when the Tigers put a rebound in the back of the net. The Kats began to assert themselves, however, with junior midfielder Enzo Beber Zemberlun finding pockets of space and creating opportunities for himself and the Wildkat forwards. At the half, the Kats were clearly in a dogfight, but they were close, down only 1-0. In the second half, the intensity picked up, and the Kats struggled to keep the Lebanon attack at bay. After conceding in the third minute, a Lebanon forward stripped the ball from one of the Wildkat defenders and streaked into the area, finishing the chance for a 3-0 lead. Moments later, the Tigers earned a penalty kick, and put away their shot from the spot, building their lead to 4-0. But the Kokomo Wildkats refused to go away quietly. Junior midfielder Gael Cordero beat his mark two minutes later, and finished the Kats’ first goal of the night. Sophomore forward Santiago “Chucho” Briceno beat his mark on the left flank just two minutes later and served the ball into the area where Cordero collected the ball, turned his defender, and blasted home his second goal of the night and third of the season to cut the Tiger lead in half. Cordero nearly recorded a hat trick with 15 minutes to play when Beber Zemberlun’s pass knifed through the Lebanon back line, but Cordero’s shot was wide and high. Although the Wildkats (1-2-1, 0-1-0) suffered their second defeat of the season, they played with grit, physicality, and creativity. Your man of the match is junior Gael Cordero (3 goals on the season). The Kats return to action when they travel to Oak Hill Saturday. In the junior varsity match, the Wildkats struggled to keep the Tigers attack in check and lost their first match of the season by a score of 6-0.