| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hesston | 0 |
0 |
0 |
| Dodge City | 2 |
0 |
2 |
1st half: 24:00 1 DC Victorino Alvarado (assist Mafungu Nzunga); 40:00 2 DC Orlando Dominguez (unassisted)
2nd half: No Goals
Shots: HC 8 (2 SOG); DC 22 (12 SOG)
Saves: HC James Ward 10; DC Shawn Warren 2
Coach's Summary: The Larks opened regional play Saturday against Dodge City Community College. The wind would be a big factor in the game on this warm sunny afternoon with strong gusting winds playing havoc with the ball the entire game.
The Larks began the game with the ball and were able to work the ball around right from the start. The play would go back and forth with Dodge having a little more possession but the Larks were holding their own. The Conquistadors had a few opportunities quickly snuffed out by the strong play of the Larks defense and their goalkeeper James Ward. However, DCCC got on the board 24 minutes into the game with a well timed run by Victorino Alvarado and pass by Mafunu Nzunga to break past the HC back line. Alvarado slipped the ball nicely past the keeper to give Dodge City the 1 - 0 lead. "It looked like he (Alvarado) might have been offside on the play but regardless it was a good play on their part. They were flooding players to one side to overload our defense. We handled it pretty well except for that one time."
Hesston continued to play well but struggled to get good opportunities on goal. "Dodge City's defenders played really well. They are big, strong, and aggressive. They did a really good job on our forward 1 v 1."
DCCC had a little luck on their side to put their squad up 2 -0 late in the first half. Orlando Dominquez sent a floating cross from the left side of the field toward the middle. The wind caught the ball as it floated toward the goal. Ward was unable to keep it out of the goal. "It was a pretty lucky goal on their part. It was questionable whether or not the ball actually crossed the line once James got possession of the ball, but it was a goal regardless of what we thought. Weird things like that can happen and you just have to move on and bounce back."
Dodge City started the second half with the ball and the 2 - 0 lead, but it was the Larks who started the second half looking like the sharper team. Philip Kaufman jumped in and stole the ball from Dodge right off the kick off. "I was pleased to see the way our team responded in the second half. We came out, took the ball from them, and played with a lot of fire. It was good to see."
HC still struggled to get opportunities on net but did manage several dangerous opportunities. Some nice passing along with some tough individual play by Brett Brand resulted in the feisty forward getting a good opportunity inside the box but goalkeeper Shawn Warren did well to keep it out of the net. "We really played better in the second half and had some good chances but just could not put the finishing touch on it."
The Larks defense was bolstered by the strong play of Felipe Tafur, as DCCC was unable to add to their score. "Felipe is such a solid player. He is strong presence for us in the back. He is a smart player with a lot of skill." Unfortunately for Hesston they were unable to get anything themselves the second half.
"Dodge City is a strong team. The goals they scored were more mistakes on our part than anything. But give them credit they put themselves in better position to score more often than we did. They definitely deserved to win. I was pleased with the way we played overall especially defensively. Especially considering that one of our starting central defenders, Steve Eriksen, was only able to play for 10 minutes due to being sick. I was worried that not having Steve would leave us vulnerable in the back but Greg Hostetler took his spot in the middle and did a great job. Eric Schmucker played outside for Greg and played well also. Aaron Martin had a great game too. We are coming together defensively as a team. Now we just need to play better in the attacking third of the field and we willl be a very dangerous team. I am excited about the potential we have if we can continue to improve at the rate that we have been. We are still experimenting with certain players in certain positions. We know that this is going to be a long season and that we just need to improve each day."
The Larks will next face Barton County Community College in Great Bend on Wednesday, September 8 at 4:00 pm. "Barton has been one of the top teams in our region the past two years. I expect that they will be as good or better this year. We are really looking forward to the challenge."