| 1st | 2nd | OT | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hesston | 1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
| Cloud | 2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
1st half: 1 HC Eric Bixler (Brett Brand) 9:10; 1 CC Seth Graham (unassisted) 26:45; 2 CC Seth Graham (Nathan Delforge) 31:41
2nd half: 2 HC Felipe Tafur (Brett Brand) 65:23; 3 CC Guilherme Silva (Jose Fernandez) 80:12; 3 HC Felipe Tafur (Brandon Davis) 88:58
OT: No Goals
Shots: HC 18 (7 SOG); CCCC 14 (8 SOG)
Saves: HC 4 (James Ward); CCCC 5 George Tirabassi
Coach's Summary: After three games on the road the Larks from Hesston College were glad to be playing in front of their home fans. The Larks were also eager to end a three game losing streak, but the task would not be a simple one. This night Hesston would play against perennial Region VI power Cloud County Community College.
"Cloud has traditionally been at the top of our region for a long time. And it has probably been 8 or 9 years at least since we have beaten them. This year however they have been a bit down but we definitely do not want to take them or anyone in our region lightly."
Hesston came out with lots of energy and both teams looked ready to play. The Larks dominated play early and were rewarded in just the 9th minute. Brett Brand and Eric Bixler cut through the Thunderbirds defense with some nice give and go's down the left side of the pitch. The last pass was a perfect lead pass by Brand to Bixler. Bixler raced onto the ball and laced it nicely under the sprawling arms of goalkeeper George Tirabassi. "That was a pretty goal. I really thought at that point we were in control of the game but to their credit they didn't give up."
Cloud County did not give up and eventually capitalized on their own set of combination passing finished off by Seth Graham. Graham received the ball near the top of the eighteen on the right side and threaded a ball nicely into the far left netting. "Cloud was playing very direct with lots of long balls. For the most part we were handling it very well. But then we gave them too much space and Seth hit a nice shot."
Cloud didn't take long to get the lead when just five minutes later Seth Graham hit another nice shot past a diving James Ward. "James had a good game and maybe could have played better but I am not going to get upset at my keeper when we allow uncontested shots inside the penalty area. We just were not doing a very good job of closing down spaces in the back third."
The half ended with the Thunderbirds in the lead and with the momentum. But the game was by no means over. As the second half wore on the Larks really began to dominate play with some nice passing in and through the Cloud County defense. Felipe Tafur came in up front and provided the spark the Larks would need. Tafur received a nice through ball from Brand. Tafur ran on juked one defender and chipped the ball nicely over the on rushing keeper.
"Felipe is a solid player who has played mostly in the back but could play anywhere on the field. He was hurt and could not play in the KCKCC game and that really hurt us. We were getting plenty of opportunities in the final third but just were not finding the finishing touch. It is nice to have his presence in the back but I knew that if we wanted to turn this game in our favor we would need him up front. Felipe is so smooth and composed."
Now with the game tied Hesston continued to put pressure on the Thunderbirds but it was Cloud that would capitalize on the next best opportunity. With just under four minutes remaining in the game Guilherme Silva would find space in between the Larks defense to slice in the go ahead goal.
The Larks now down a goal were now pressing for the tie. The final minutes of the half Hesston looked desperate as it pressured Cloud all the way up the field. The pressure would pay off as Brandon Davis slotted a perfect ball to Felipe now on another break. One nice move past the keeper and a rip into the open net tied the game with just over 1 minute remaining in regulation.
The overtime periods were frantic as both sides had good opportunities to decide the match but to no avail. The game would end tied to the frustration of both sides.
"The wind was definitely a factor in today's game. They really used it well in the first half but I thought we could have played much better. We need to make some adjustments but for the most part I was pleased that we were able to fight back twice from being down a goal. It was an exciting game. We are glad we did not lose but disappointed not to get a win. We have a week before our next game so hopefully we can get things straightened out a bit before then."
The Larks next match is Tuesday, September 21, at home against Dodge City Community College at 7:30 p.m. (Note: Southwestern Christian University has forfeited the game for Fri Sept 17. So there will be no game that day. The Larks record is now 2-3-1)
"Dodge is a solid team. They already beat us 2 - 0 and I expect them to be better the next time. We will just have to play better too."