Soccer Game Report
Hesston vs. Kansas City Kansas, Sept. 13, 2003, Hesston

1st half: no score

2nd half: no score

Overtime: 1 KCK Brian Williams (assist Matt Patterson)

Shots: HC 3 (1 SOG); KCK 20 (8 SOG)

Saves: HC Danny Yoder 7; KCK Garret Brunsman 1

Coach's Summary: A festive atmosphere and a spectacular sunset set the stage for what was a terrific soccer match. Hesston College put on a wonderful outdoor BBQ for the student body. Other pre-game events such as Ultimate Frisbee and the famous dunk tank along with some music and dancing had the home fans primed to cheer on the Larks against a very good Kansas City Kansas team. The Larks were coming off a dismal performance against Barton County. KCK on the other hand was coming off a dominant performance over Dodge City in which KCK’s Brian Williams scored a hat trick en route to a 3-1 victory. “KCK had a rough start to their season opening up with four losses. But those losses were all to excellent teams. They had a bad game against Barton last week losing 6-1 but apparently had things turned around by beating a good Dodge City team. Everyone in our region knows that Brian Williams is an extremely talented player. When you play KCK he’s the man to stop.” As the Larks would find out, stopping Williams would be no easy task.
      The game started off fast and furious with KCK getting some opportunities early. Hesston was solid defensively from the start but still had difficulty keeping tabs on Williams. Williams managed two dangerous opportunities in the first 15 minutes. The first shot saved nicely by the Larks keeper Danny Yoder and the second clanging off the far post. “What makes Brian so dangerous is that not only does he possess great ball skills, but he’s extremely fast and strong. He doesn’t lose the ball. You have to make him give it up. You’re not going to keep a player like that from shooting. You have to limit his opportunities and make him rush his shot if possible. And that’s what we did. We did a great job off slowing him down and making him go across the field.”
      The Larks had trouble penetrating KCK’s strong defense. Hesston got their most dangerous opportunities on their set plays outside the box. Philip Hartzler sent several free kicks inside the box from 40 yards out but the Larks failed to connect on the other end. Half time came with no score on the board. “I was really pleased with the effort we displayed defensively. We’ve worked mostly on defense in our practices and for the first time it looked like we were finally getting it. It would have been nice to get some better attack going but against a strong team like KCK I’m not going to complain.”
      As the second half started the intensity picked up. As the intensity picked up the pace of the game sped up and the crowd really started getting into the game. “This was the best crowd we’ve had at a soccer game since I’ve been coaching. The fans were really get into it and I think both teams fed off of it. Both teams were playing a tough physical game and it was obvious that neither team was going to back down.” The game went back and forth for the entire second half with KCK getting the better opportunities. Hesston continued to play stellar defense and keep their opponent at bay. Hesston’s attacks managed to find the attacking third more often but they still weren’t getting shots on goal. But they did manage some tense moments as several free kicks came just short or long of finding the player to finish.
      The Larks entered overtime inspired and confident. With a golden goal on the line it was now more then ever anyone’s game. The Larks started the overtime aggressive sending the ball to an on running Jared Widmer and Jared Coblentz. KCK defended well and began their attack. The fast and aggressive pace continued and the fans were now in frenzy. And then… it was over. KCK’s dangerous Brian William slipped the ball past a diving Danny Yoder. KCK was celebrating but all Hesston fans heard was silence. The crowd and the Hesston players were stunned. “Our players were really disappointed in the result. They played so hard and so well. It didn’t matter to me that we lost I was really proud of my players. It’s always disappointing to lose, but KCK is a very good team. There is no shame in losing 1-0 to them. It’s a game that we could have won and everyone would have said we deserved to win. But KCK played well. They deserved to win and they did. We played a great defensive game and even the other coach said as much. Now we can spend more time working on improving our attack. I’ve told our guys that the season is a process. We just need to keep getting better and we are. If we can improve offensively – which I know we will – and give that kind of defensive effort the rest of the season, there isn’t any reason why we can’t get plenty of wins.”
      The schedule doesn’t get any easier as Hesston next battles perennial powerhouse Cloud County Community College in Hesston on Thursday Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m.