Game Report
Hesston vs. Dodge City
Sept. 21, 2004, Hesston, Kan.

    1st     2nd   Final
Hesston
1
1
2
Dodge City
1
0
1

1st half:  1 HC Jared Widmer (Eric Bixler) 15:21; 1 DC Orlando Dominquez (Jonathan Stocchero) 25:36

2nd half: 2 HC Jared Widmer (Felipe Tafur and Brett Brand) 46:19

Shots:  HC 11 (7 SOG); DC 16 (9 SOG)


Saves:  HC 8 (James Ward); DC 5 Shawn Warren

Corner Kicks:  HC 4; DC 5

Yellow Cards:  Brett Brand, Philip Kaufman, Eric Schmucker

Red Cards:  none

Coach's Summary:  The morning sky brought the rain but by the afternoon the weather had cleared and by game time the conditions where ripe for soccer at Hesston College. No wind and cool temperatures set the stage for the match up of the night between the Larks and the Conquistadors from Dodge City Community College.
       "You could not have asked for better conditions for a soccer game. In a word - ideal."
The Larks began the first game of a tough three game home stretch in which they would face Dodge City, Johnson County, and Allen County Community College.
       "We made some changes to our line up. Some players were playing new positions for the first time in a game. I was really nervous about how things would look tonight. I knew that the first five minutes would tell the story. Dodge is a strong team and had already beaten us earlier in the season. They have lots of speed up front and great midfield play. If we could play strong early then I knew that we would be okay."
       Hesston did play strong early and put good pressure on their opponent from the start. Both teams were moving the ball well up the field but without any real dangerous opportunities. The Larks would get on the board first. Some nice passing by the Larks and tough individual play by Eric Bixler saw the Larks with possession deep down the left side of the pitch. Bixler threaded a nice ball to Jared Widmer who was cutting to the net. Widmer put a nicely placed ball into the side netting to put Hesston up 1 - 0 fifteen minutes into the contest.
       "Eric did a nice job to get that ball to Jared. Jared's shot was not a hard shot but it was well placed. We talk all the time about just getting the ball on net. Jared did that and we got the goal."
Play continued back and forth until Dodge City took advantage of a counter attack opportunity. Jonathan Stocchero played a perfectly weighted ball straight up the middle through to Orlando Dominqez. James Ward came off his line but Dominquez was able to slip a nice ball past Ward. The ball rolled slowly enough that Ward was able to make a desperate lunge at the ball to try to keep it out but to no avail. Score now 1-1.
       "James tried to anticipate that ball coming through harder but give credit to their midfielder. That pass was dead on perfect. Most players can not make that straight-ahead pass to a forward because they either put it too far in front of their teammate and the keeper easily swallows it up or they leave it short and the forward has to slow down which allows the defender to catch up. We should have never allowed their attacker to get behind us in the first place. But you learn from it and move on.

      "I was pleased with the first half. Our biggest problem was that we allowed too much space in the middle. That one break down that allowed the goal is an easy problem to fix with some good awareness and concentration."
       Hesston came out right away in the second half determined to take it to their opponent. Their efforts were quickly rewarded just two minutes into the second half. Brett Brand took a throw in from the left side. Felipe Tafur skipped the ball through to an onrushing Jared Widmer who slotted the go ahead goal into the back of the net.
       "That was a great play. The greatest part of it though is that it is not something that we have ever worked on. It shows that the players are learning to be creative and learning to improvise. As a soccer coach all you can really do is teach the players the building blocks of the game and then hope that they can use those building blocks to solve problems themselves on the field. There is no way that any coach can tell the players what to do in every situation. Soccer is way too dynamic for that. They have to be able to read the game and make adjustments as individuals and as a team. That second goal was a prime example of just that."
       As time wore on Dodge City took more and more control of the game. Hesston was still able to mount some attack but as time wound down the Larks became more and more defensive. With the final minutes ticking off the clock the Conquistadors had trouble finding any space in the final third. The Larks refused to allow anything close in.
       "Once the time got down below ten minutes remaining we were really just trying to keep things simple and not give them any good chances. Our entire team defensively really did a good job at bottling things up. It would have been nice to get a third goal and Eric had a great shot that just went wide. But what we did not want was to push forward too hard and leave ourselves vulnerable in the back. Dodge is a good team with some very dangerous players. You can not allow them time and space or they will take it to you."
       The game ended and for the first time ever Hesston College beat Dodge City Community College.  "We have had some very close games with Dodge in the past but most of the time we were fortunate if we got a tie. This time we had some good possessions, played smart defensively, got some well earned goals, and clearly deserved to win. Dodge is a very solid team and we feel good about getting that win. This was an important game for us. We have two more very difficult games this week with Johnson and Allen coming to town. This gives us some confidence going into those games.
       "I was especially pleased with the play of Michael Armstrong. He was playing as a defensive center mid for us which is a new position for him and he did it very well. Our back line has started to gel together more. And as a team we are just playing better soccer all the way around. We can still play better and that is what is so exciting."
       The Larks face perennial powerhouse Johnson County on Thursday, September 23 at 7:30 pm at home. "Johnson is always a tough game. This is one of the games that we have highlighted on our schedule. Generally the rule is that if you can beat Johnson you can beat anyone in the region. However, we will need to play better than we did against Dodge if we want to pull off the upset."