Luie Kogetsu stood in the box with only Warren Central goalkeeper Allen Nezic.

The official blew his whistle and the South Warren junior midfielder slowly approached the ball before putting his penalty kick into the lower left corner of the net for the only goal in the Spartans’ 1-0 win Thursday over the visiting Dragons.

“We’ve been practicing PKs a lot in practice, so I just did the same thing we do in practice,” Kogetsu said.

Anthony Cano was tripped up along the right side of the field just inside the box with 33 minutes to play in the game to set up the penalty kick. It’s something the Dragons have been prone to allow this season on the way to an 8-2-1 start entering Thursday’s contest.

“That’s been kind of our Achilles’ heel the whole season,” Warren Central coach Aaron Ray said. “PKs and free kicks have been all the goals we’ve given up except for Warren East – Warren East scored a goal in the run of play – but we’ve been a team that’s fouled a lot and we get PKs called against us a lot. To lose on that – it’s just how our season’s been going.”

When it came down to who would take it, there was no question from South Warren coach Tom Alexander that it would be Kogetsu. The decision paid off as he provided the game’s only goal.

“He’s calm. He’s relaxed. He just picks his corner and he goes,” Alexander said.

Scoring opportunities were at a premium throughout the contest. The best of the first half, in which Warren Central took seven shots and South Warren took six, came for the Dragons when Leonce Ndikumana’s shot hit the crossbar and went out of play.

South Warren’s first good chance in the second half came on a free kick from just outside the box. Kogetsu took it, but sailed it over the net. It helped prepare him for the next dead ball situation, though.

“I was thinking I missed one, so I had to get the next one for the team because we were all working hard and we have to get one in,” Kogetsu said.

He had another chance on a penalty kick in the final 10 minutes, but was stopped by Nezic.

Warren Central continued to apply pressure until the end and, with under two minutes to play, got a chance on a through ball that entered the box. South Warren goalkeeper Chas Cross came out and there was a collision, but the shutout remained intact.

Cross was given a yellow card, which forced him to go to the sideline following the play, and Tayshaun Jones saved the only shot he faced before Cross could return and close out the victory. Cross had five saves.

“He’s a great goalkeeper. I had no worry in my mind that he wasn’t going to save that. I knew that was his,” Cross said. “I knew for a fact he was saving that.”

South Warren improved to 9-1-1 overall and 3-1-0 in District 14 play. The result snapped a five-game winning streak in the series for the Dragons.

Warren Central fell to 3-1-0 in district play. Because of a postponement earlier in the season, the two teams will be meeting for the second time Saturday.

“Our goal is always the same every year. Our goal is to get the No. 1 seed in the district and then get out of the district and then go from there,” Alexander said. “This put us in a better position to stay in that No. 1 seed, or in the race for it at least.”

Saturday’s game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at Warren Central.{&end}