1st |
2nd |
Final |
|
Hesston | 0 |
1 |
1 |
Cloud County | 2 |
1 |
3 |
1st half: 1 CC Peter Hill (Seth Graham) 20:01;
2 CC Guilherme Silva (Seth Graham) 35:14
2nd half: 3 CC Bryan Sorenson (unassisted); 1
HC Felipe Tafur (Eric Bixler)
Shots: HC 12 (4 SOG); CC 11 (8 SOG)
Saves: HC 5 (James Ward); CC 3 (George Tirabassi)
Yellow Cards: CC Seth Graham
Red Cards:
None
Coach's Summary: The Larks from Hesston College
(6-3-1) looked to see if they could continue their winning ways. With
a four game win streak and a five game unbeaten streak on the line the
Larks took to the road to play Cloud County Community College in Concordia,
Kansas. Cloud in contrast had yet to win a game with a total record
of 0-9-1.
"We have been playing very well
at home but this game was on the road." The game started with
both teams looking to attack early. Both teams had dangerous opportunities
but Hesston had the best early chances. The Larks had two breakaways
thwarted by the strong defensive play and goalkeeping of Cloud. The
Thunderbirds got the first goal when a quick counterattack down the
right side of the pitch caught the Larks short handed on the far side.
Seth Graham's cross sliced sweetly to a wide open Peter Hill who finished
nicely into the near side twenty minutes into the game. Cloud would
capitalize on another Hesston defensive miscue when Graham crossed a
ball from the right side to Guilherme Silva who slotted the ball into
the left netting.
"Two times we had defensive breakdowns
and they made us pay on both of them. We were clearly dominating the
possession but give them credit for some very good attacks. And give
them credit for finishing. We had several chances early but just could
not finish. Who knows if we finish better early in the game we might
have taken the wind out of their sails."
The second half found the Larks looking
for some answers but the Thunderbirds would only present more problems.
Some strong attack by Cloud had the Larks scrambling eight minutes into
the second half. Bryan Sorenson was quicker to the ball to finish a
rebound off the post. The Larks were controlling play but it was Cloud
County with the 3-0 lead.
The Larks attack grew strong as the game
wore on. But it was not until the sixty-seventh minute that Hesston
was able to ripple the twine. Eric Bixler's corner kick easily found
a cutting Felipe Tafur to get the Larks on the board.
Time
wearing down the Larks started putting on more and more pressure but
Cloud stymied the attack every time. Eventually time would run out for
Hesston. "At times we played well but we just could not finish
like we have been and we did not play as strong defensively as we have
in the past. As a team we need to be more committed to defense then
we were today. We also need to finish better than we did today. We had
a chance to add to our lead in the region, but now it is just an opportunity
lost. We have another opportunity on Thursday when we play Barton but
Barton is a much better team than Cloud right now. We will have to get
back to playing the kind of soccer that got us 3 regional wins in 5
days. And we need to figure out how to play better on the road. I need
to do a better job of preparing our team. We just did not look like
the same team we were last week. But we will move on from here. We are
still in a good position to get a home game. It just means that we will
have to get at least one if not both of the remaining regional game
to do it and maybe some help from other teams. At this point anything
can happen. It will be interesting to see how things play out.
The Larks come back home to play the
Barton County Community College Cougars next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in
front of the home fans. "Playing at home will be nice. We have
played well at home and showed that we can beat some very good teams.
Barton may have the most talented team in our region and will be a very
tough challenge for us. They have already beaten us once but that was
early in the season and on the road."