Kankakee Valley High School

The KV varsity boys soccer team dropped its third conference game of the season with a 4-1 defeat at Lowell on Wednesday night. From the start, the host Red Devils took control of possession and offensive chances, however the Kougar defense would hold strong. Unfortunately the Kougars could only hold on for the first 25 minutes before Lowell would get one past the KV goal off a free kick that was deflected. Lowell would eventually add two more to give themselves a 3-0 lead. Before the end of the half, KV would get one goal back. A corner kick from freshman Eli Hildebrandt found fellow freshman Manuel Toledo inside the Lowell penalty box. Toledo's header found its way past the Lowell goalkeeper to get the Kougars within two. This was Toledo's first varsity goal of his high school career. The score would remain the same heading into halftime. In the second half, the Kougars would continue to defend more throughout, however did have its moments in Lowell's attacking third. The stingy Red Devil defense would keep things tidy in the back and would prevent the Kougars from getting any closer. Lowell would add one more insurance goal late to end the scoring in the contest. KV sophomore goalkeeper Damien Vargas played one of his best games of the season. He made some unbelievable diving saves to keep the Kougars within striking distance throughout the match. He finished with 12 saves on the night. "Another tough result for our team tonight" said head KV coach Jovan Jeftich. "Lowell was able to expose our weaknesses and took advantage of them. I thought our team battled hard again tonight against a well improved Lowell side. We can only go up from here. We need to get some of our players back healthy and hopefully can get back in the win column on Saturday." The Kougars will be back in action on Saturday morning when they host South Bend Riley at Fred Jones Field. Game time is set for a 10:30 a.m. start. Game Statistics Goals Manuel Toledo 1 Assists Eli Hildebrandt 1 Saves Damien Vargas 12 Record 3-6 (0-3 NCC)