Hesston vs. Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa
Sept. 3, 2005, Tonkawa, Okla.

1st half:  1 NOC-T Zach Brown 39:46 (unassisted); 2 NOC-T Eric Chupp 43:11 (unassisted)

2nd half:  3 NOC-T Francisco Reyes 49:19(unassisted)

Yellow Cards: NOC-T - 2 (Josh Bushyhead, Austin Brady); HC 1 (Anthony Warfel)
Red Cards: None

Coach's Summary:  Hesston College soccer gets a tough test right away. The Larks started off their regular season with a tough game against Northern Oklahoma - Tonkawa. On the road against a team that is considered one of the top 25 teams in the country isn't easy but that's what the Larks faced.
      "Northern Oklahoma is always considered a very strong team. They've had a strong program for a while now. Two years ago they finished in the top 4. So we knew that we'd have our hands full."
      Both teams started strong getting opportunities inside the final third. NOC-T was clearly the more physical team at the start. But the Larks gradually adjusted and soon the game was a very fast and furious match.
      "We've never played them before but the word has always been that Tonkawa likes to play very direct. And that's what they were. We made the mistake of trying to play the same way. At times we were in just too much of a hurry. The few times we did try to possess the ball we were very successful."
      Thirty-minutes into the game Zach Brown put what looked like a harmless ball high into the box. But the HC keeper, Joe Donati, misplayed it and the ball settled into the back of the net.
      "Joe knows he should have had it. He made a mistake. I make sure that all my players know that we can't worry about mistakes. We all make them. We learn from them and we move on. Not only is that necessary but it has to happen in about a split second. Joe actually was playing well up until that point. He made some nice saves and was making good decisions."
      Three minutes later the Mavericks got on the board again. A strong shot and a good deflection by Donati made for a mad scramble in the box. NOC-T capitalized on the chaos and pounded the ball in the empty goal.
      "Joe actually did well to get to the initial shot but wasn't able to catch it. They just got to the rebound before we did. It was disheartening to give up two goals in the final 6 minutes. We weren't playing poorly but we weren't playing our best soccer either. Northern Oklahoma is a very fast and physical team and we had trouble catching up to the speed of the game. We were allowing the physical play to affect us mentally."
      NOC-T came out strong in the second half and increased their margin to 3 with a nicely placed shot by Francisco Reyes.
      In spite of the score line the Larks looked determined and managed to put together several strong attacks, but just could not get that last final dangerous shot on goal.
      "We had some good opportunities. We were getting the ball in the final third and creating some attack but defensively they would always shut us down at the last moment. They played a strong defensive game. I was proud of the fact that we were still battling hard even though we were down."
      Even though both sides created some more good scoring opportunities the score stood at 3-0.
      "It was a good first game for us. I knew that this would be a tough match and it was. But I thought we competed very well. We proved that we could move the ball on a very good team. We were definitely guilty of trying to play their game. We don't want to play so direct. We'd rather try to possess the ball. When we do, we're strong. When we just hurry down the field we get too disorganized. We need to play our game."
      "We have some guys nursing some injuries including our other goalkeeper Chris Burkholder. The guys are understandably down about losing but I'm actually encouraged. I'm seeing the great potential we have and I can't wait for us to play again. We had a 10-minute period where we gave up 3 goals but for the other 80 minutes we played strong. Once we get a few of our guys healthy and get some more practice under our belt we'll be fine. We're also looking at moving just a few players around and see how that does or doesn't help us. We still have a week and a half before a regional game. So there's lots of time to improve."
      The Larks face nearby Bethel College this Wed at 7:30 PM in North Newton.
      "Playing Bethel will be fun. We're playing on their new stadium under the lights. Getting the guys up for that game won't be hard."