Soccer Game Report
Hesston vs. Barclay, Sept. 2, 2003, Haviland, Kan.

1st half: 1 HC Craig Mast (unassisted); 2 HC Eric Bixler (assist Jared Coblentz); 3 HC Eric Bixler (assist Jared Widmer); 4 Raul Martinez (assist Philip Hartzler)

2nd half: 5 HC Michael Swartzendruber (assist Raul Martinez); 6 HC Raul Martinez (assist Jared Widmer); 1 BC Jesse Thompson (assist Zak Caldwell); 7 HC Aaron Aeschilman (unassisted)

Shots: HC 27 (SOG – 16); BC 8 (SOG – 4)

Saves: HC Danny Yoder 0, Jesse Hershberger 3, Drew Kelly 0; BC DJ Williams 9

Coach's Summary: Hesston College got back on the winning track with a dominating victory over Barclay College on Tuesday night. Barclay had a much-improved team over the team they fielded last year, but were still short on the bench with only one sub. Hesston dominated possession of the ball from start to finish but had trouble cracking the back of the net until about the 15-minute mark. Barclay’s keeper, DJ Williams, misplayed a punt off his own defender. The ball fell nicely to Craig Mast as he slipped the ball neatly past the keeper into the back of the net.
      Once Hesston felt the cool satisfaction of scoring, the floodgates seemed to open. The Larks put constant pressure on their opponents. Several minutes later Eric Bixler finished off a nice assist from Jared Coblentz who carried the ball across the end line and dropped a short and sweet pass to Bixler who had the easy finish. Bixler earned his next goal emphatically. Jared Widmer brought the ball down the right side, sent a nice driven ball across the penalty box. Bixler brought the ball down and crushed the ball off the diving keeper’s hands and into the side netting. “Eric ripped the ball so hard the keeper had no chance to control it. Most keepers would have suffered the same fate on that shot.”
      The fourth goal was arguably the nicest goal of the day. With the Larks pressing seven players into the attack, Philip Hartzler sent a beautifully driven ball from the right corner of the field across the box to Raul Martinez running back door. Martinez sent ripples through the netting and cheers from the bench with his dramatic diving header. “We completely dominated the first half and they really struggled to get pressure on us in our own half. The few times they did were neatly cleaned up by our defenders. Brett Brand especially played well and did a great job of shutting down they attacks.”
      Barclay played the second half much different. “The second half Barclay did a much better job putting pressure on our defense. The put three attackers up top. Their strategy was obviously to hit the ball up to their forward and try to beat our defense. For the most part we handled it well. The exception lead to their only goal. We got caught with numbers down and a little disorganized. Their player hit a nice shot past our keeper. At that point we were up 6-1. So I’m not going to get too upset. But it does show that we still have some work to do as a team defensively. On the flip side we did a great job of exploiting their lower numbers on defense. We were still able to provide lots of pressure on their defense and move the ball easily with lots of space in the midfield.”
      Before Barclay could get their first goal the Larks added two more by Michael Swartzendruber and Raul Martinez. “We just put so much pressure on the backs that a few more goals were inevitable.” Aaron Aeshilman capped off the scoring when a shot by Jay Dravenstott was tipped by the keeper then glanced off the post and fell to Aeschilman who was in the perfect spot to slot the ball in the net. Although the Larks outscored Barclay 3-1 in the second half, Hesston did face a lot more pressure. “Barclay is a much improved team from last year and it was their first game. I expect that the next time we face them that the game will be much closer.”
      “Overall we did some really nice passing. We moved the ball very well and worked very unselfishly as a team. Defensively we were solid for most of the game. We had a few breakdowns but only one goal given up. We’re happy to get a win and to have a game where everyone could play. However, we know that this team is still a work in progress. We’re just trying to get better every day. Our next opponent is North Area Iowa Community College and I expect that they will be very good. We’ll have our work cut out for us.”