Warriors Take Hard Loss is Physical First Match

Sterling, Kan.-After a delay to the start of the season due to the high head last week, Sterling finally got to play their home opener Saturday afternoon against Oklahoma Panhandle State University.

The game started physical and stayed that way for the entire 90 minutes. Exceptional play by the Keeper, Marcelo Fuentes, kept the Warriors in it for the full time. Fuentes was tested just 4 minutes into the competition facing a penalty kick from the Aggies. With confidence and authority, Fuentes dove hard to his left and met the ball with a two handed save just inside the right post. It was the first of two PK saves on the day for Fuentes.

In the 20', Panhandle scored the lone goal of the game on a header coming from a free kick. Fuentes once again got his hands on the ball but was not able to coral it to preserve the 0-0 tie.

With just 7 minutes to play in a one score game, the Aggies had another opportunity to score a security goal and seal the game. Fuentes, once again, stood in the way. This time diving to his right he made clean contact knocking the ball from just inside the right post all the way out of the box. Those two saves by Fuentes single handedly kept the Warriors in the game for the full 90 minutes. Unfortunately they weren't able to capitalize on the momentum from either kick as they eventually lost 1-0.

The performance by Fuentes earned him Defensive Player of the Week honors even though the outcome was a loss for the Warriors. Sterling is now 0-1 this season. They will have a full weekend of action playing a makeup game against Randall University on Thursday the 31^st at 3 pm and Baptist Bible at 4 pm on Friday, September 1^st.

Be sure to check for news and updates on Sterling Warrior Athletics on Facebook (/SCWarriors), Twitter (@SterlingCSports), and Instagram (sterlingcsports), as well as the hashtag #SwordsUp. Watch all of the Warriors' live home events on the Sterling College Sports Network.