The West Wilkes Blackhawks traveled to Ronda, to face the East Wilkes Cardinals last night. The Blackhawks shut down the Cardinals, beating them 7-0.

Cardinal coach Kathryn Murchison said, " I thought the boys started off playing well in the first half. There was a bit of miscommunication regarding the two corner kicks that resulted in scores," she said.

Injuries hit the Cardinals early, as both Baijahn Barnes and Logan Hemric were both injured in a span of less than 10 minutes. Both returned to the game, but the shifting of players to cover their positions resulted in some miscommunication among the Cardinals on field.

“We just couldn’t convert on the corner kicks. It really switched the momentum and they had trouble regrouping until the very end,” Murchison said.

The Blackhawks got on the board early, just four minutes into the game. Blackhawk senior Adrian Garcia found the back of the net on a cornerkick at 36:10.

"I think its hard with players going down in such quick succession. To lose two starters like that, we did have to switch players around. I think that had a part to play in the miscommunication on the cornerkicks," Murchison said.

Diago Paualos posted the final score of the half at 25:30 for the Blackhawks, increasing the score to 2-0.

The scoring silence didn't last long, however, as the Blackhawks snuck another goal by keeper Chris Deal just three minutes into the second half.

Paualos found T.J. Gordon on a cornerkick, and Gordon finished off the score as he blasted a shot in the Cardinal net.

After the third score, the Blackhawks found their niche, and laid it on thick.

Paualos scored on a free kick with 34 minutes left in the game.

Adrian Garcia was the main culprit behind the strong Blackhawk offensive.

He ended up with a hat trick, scoring two out of his three goals within three minutes of each other in the second half.

The first goal came at 31 minutes and the second at 28:40.

Both goals weree breakaway runs he took from midfield into the box. Keeper Chris Deal came out to make the defensive play, but Garcia blasted both shots into the back of the net.

With just over 10 minutes remaining, the Cardinals would surrender one final goal to the Blackhawks.

Ray Garcia found Derick Zemora on a cross field pass. Zemora drilled one passed Deal, and the rest was history.

Despite allowing 16 goals over the last two games, the Cardinals have played with their respective opponents. Simple slip ups have resulted in opponent scores.

East will attempt to rebound after the loss at North Wilkes tomorrow evening. The game is set to begin at 6 p.m.

Regardless, Murchison remains optimistic for the remainder of the Cardinal’s season.

“Despite the record, the boys are building after each game. Hopefully we will get to the point where we can pull a full 80 minutes where they can play to their full potential. They haven’t done it yet, but hopefully we will be there soon,” Murchison said.