Hesston vs. Allen County CC
Oct. 5, 2005, Iola, Kan.

1st half: 1 AC Derek Boydo (Joe Durso) 18:49; 2 AC Joe Durso (Cooper Melvin) 20:57

2nd Half: 3 AC Tony Palicios (unassisted)

Yellow Cards: HC - 1 (Felipe Tafur)
Red Cards: None

Coach's Summary:- The Larks traveled to Iola, KS to take on the Red Devils of Allen County Community College. Conditions weren't exactly ideal with a fairly strong wind and run looming on the horizon for this affair, but both teams looking to get back on the winning track after 3 game losing streaks.
    "We've been up and down in our play lately. But we definitely wanted to come out and play strong today. Allen County is a team we've always struggled against especially at their place. But this would be extra difficult today without Jordon Hannon. We're already short one of our starters in Steve Eriksen. Not having Jordon is a big deal for us. I wasn't sure how the guys would respond."
    Allen County started the game off with some good strong attacks but Hesston countered with some good possession of their own. Allen got on the board in the 19th minute when Derek Boydo found a bit of space in the box and slid the ball just out of the reach of Chris Burkholder. Just two minutes later. Joe Durso scored on a nice bicycle kick past the outstretched arms of Burkholder.
    "Allen County really took it to us. They were just a step faster than we were in the first half. At times we were just slow to react. You could tell we were missing Jordon today. Richard Idler was playing in his place and was doing a nice job, but Jordon is just more familiar with that position and very very strong on the ball. Jordon is also by far our fastest player. So even though we still have good team speed Jordon has another gear that wasn't available."
    With a 0-2 deficit and the wind at their backs now, the Larks tried to find ways through the Red Devils defense but struggled to get shots on goal. Allen County increased their lead by some scrappy play by Tony Palicios. Hesston was able get better stretches of possession but weren't constantly thwarted by the strong play of Allen County. The game finished out 3-0.
    "Overall I think we could have played better but Allen County did play well. We're disappointed that we didn't get the win. We're still in position to get into the post season but we've just made things harder on ourselves. There were some bright spots in the game. I really think that Aaron Martin played well. He was all over the field today. He's a machine. Aaron was getting into the attack at times and then sprinting back to help on defense. He ran all over that field today for 90 minutes. And we had moments here and there where we had some good play but it just wasn't enough to get us any goals."
    "I still believe in this team. We have some games remaining and we know that we're capable of winning everyone of them. Getting Jordon back will be a big help and hopefully soon we'll have Steve back as well. Once we have our full squad in tack I like our chances against any one in the region - anyone."
    Hesston falls to 4-6 overall 2-5 in the region. Next game is at home on this Friday against Neosho County CC at 7:30pm. On Tuesday, October 11 the Larks finish up Region VI play against 8th Ranked Barton County in Great Bend, KS at 4:00pm before they head to Dallas, Texas for two non-regional games - Mountain View College and Cedar Valley College. Final regular season game will be against Bethel College at Home on October 21. Post season play will begin October 25.