Zamudio scores twice, leads Warriors to victory

Updated: September 8, 2011 10:00PM

HAMMOND — With a driving rain keeping the scoring chances down, Bishop Noll preserved its undefeated record with a 4-0 victory over Wheeler on Thursday.

“It was just difficult,” Wheeler coach Ben Elvira said. “There was a lot of slipping and sliding, but the game was probably closer than the score indicates.”

With the slick conditions preventing a solid ball strike, the players’ best bet was to just control the ball themselves. Bishop Noll’s Angel Zamudio grabbed a loose ball and dribbled some 30 yards up the left side through three Bearcats defenders before scoring three minutes into the game. The senior forward popped a shot past the Wheeler keeper into the upper left corner for the first of his two goals.

Zamudio accounted for the half’s only other scoring opportunity when he headed a ball that Wheeler keeper David Wozniak was able to deflect just enough for it to hit the crossbar.

“It was tough going through their defense, but the guys just kept going at it,” said Bishop Noll coach Armando Garza.

“We’ve had quite a few injuries and we’ve been moving guys around a lot. We have five days before our next game, so it’s a chance to get some guys healed up. I told them no practice tomorrow and just to get some rest the next couple of days.”

Bishop Noll (9-0) scored again in the 48th minute when Zamudio took control of a ball at the top of the box and after a few dribbles, slipped a pass behind the Wheeler defense to Gonzalo Romo. Romo had plenty of time to measure his shot before drilling it into the right corner from point blank range.

The Warriors scored in the 56th minute on a header from Will Kasprzycki. Moving up from his defensive spot, Kasprzycki perfectly timed a corner throw-in from Robert Lorenz to knock the ball into the net. Zamudio scored his 14th goal of the season in the game’s final minute to close out the scoring.

Getting the start due to injury, Bishop Noll sophomore Josh Rosario posted three saves in the shutout. Wozniak also recorded five saves for Wheeler (5-2).

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