| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hesston | 0 |
0 |
0 |
| Johnson County | 1 |
3 |
4 |
1st half: 1 JC Shawn Andrews (assist Stephan Hoffman)
2nd half: 2 JC Paul Hanna (unassisted); 3 JC Stephan Hoffman (unassisted); 4 JC Gonzalo Fernandez (assist Brandon Hargis)
Shots: HC 5 (1 SOG); JC 27 (14 SOG)
Saves: HC 10 Danny Yoder; JC 1 Brandon Hargis
Coach's Summary: The post season for Hesston begins the way
many post seasons in the past have begun - against Johnson County. The
reoccurring theme has not served Hesston well in the past. It's been
13 years since the Hesston soccer team beat the Cavaliers in regular
season or post season. HC's frustration included a 7-0 drubbing by the
Cavaliers earlier in the season. Hesston's best showing in recent times
was a 2-0 defeat at home last season. The Larks have had an up and down
year taking KCKC to overtime (1-0 loss) in an inspiring performance
and losing to Mountain View Community College 7-0 in a very uninspiring
performance. "Last year we played many games with the idea of just trying
to keep the score close and hope we could get a goal off of a counter
attack or set play. This year we're actually trying to play toe to toe
with all of our opponents. We've shown that when we play well and play
hard we can be competitive with most every team we play. On the other
hand if we don't come ready to play hard for 90 minutes we get our lunch
handed to us. We've been pointing to the post season all year so it
was my hope that we would give our best performance today."
The Larks looked inspired and energetic
from the start. JC had the better possession and was clearly looking
to get an early goal but the strong play of the Larks defensively kept
the score sheet clean. HC found more time and space and was able to
string together some good passes through the midfield, but just seemed
the one pass short of getting more dangerous opportunities. Danny Yoder
was solid in goal and the strong play of Brett Brand and Philip Hartzler
in the back kept JC from getting good shots in and around the eighteen.
However, 21 minutes into the first
half Shawn Andrews managed to find space in the right corner with time
enough to slot a nice ball into Stephan Hoffman who finished nicely
from close range. "We were doing a nice job of condensing space and
not giving them anything in close until that goal. One breakdown equaled
one goal for them. That's what happens at this level. Even one mistake
can cost you."
Hesston seemed unfazed as their
play stepped up another notch. Soon Hesston was finding more space and
getting into the attacking third more often. Hesston's best scoring
opportunity came with 10 minutes left in the first half when the Larks
were awarded a free kick from 25 yards out. Raul Martinez sent a ball
over the wall and on goal. Brandon Hargis mishandled the ball but JC
was able to clear it out of danger.
Hesston created another dangerous
free kick opportunity just five minutes later. Hartzler sent a nicely
driven ball to the far post. Several Hesston players crashed the goal,
including Brand who came close to redirecting the ball on goal. However
the ball sailed over the end line and the first half ended 1-0. "We
felt good about the first half. We showed that we could pass the ball
on this team and we firmly believed that this was either team's game."
The second half began much the same
way the first half ended with both teams creating opportunities. Johnson
would strike the next blow eight minutes into the second half when Paul
Hanna blasted a ball past Yoder for the 2-0 lead. "That second goal
was a little disheartening but it's still not an overbearing lead. Plus
this is the playoffs. It's do or die. We weren't about to give up."
Play continued with the same frantic
pace as the previous 53 minutes, but the game would take a different
form with 24 minutes to play when Jared Coblentz was red carded and
sent off. "Jared's red card was devastating for our team. Up until that
point we still believed that we could come back. Afterwards our hearts
just sank. It's tough enough to keep up with a good team like Johnson
with 11 men let alone 10. We clearly had an uphill battle on our hands
but to the guys credit they didn't give up."
With 12 minutes remaining the Larks
moved Philip Hartzler up to forward with Eric Bixler and shortened their
midfield to 3 players instead of 4 in an effort to find some more scoring
punch. Johnson was able to take advantage of the fewer numbers in the
back and managed to knot their third goal. "Philip is really a forward
at heart but we've needed him to play in the back all year. We practiced
with him up front all week to see what it would look like and it looked
great. You would have thought Eric and Philip had been playing together
all year. With the season on the line and down two goals we had no choice
but to try to push guys forward even if we were down a man. JC did a
nice job of capitalizing on the man advantage."
Down three goals now Hesston was
throwing caution to the wind and pushing more players forward. Their
efforts managed to get the Larks into the final third several times
in the final 10 minutes but the Cavaliers did well to keep the Larks
from getting anything on goal. Several minutes later Gonzalo Fernandez
finished off a three on one breakaway with HC pushed way up into the
attack. Hesston gave a valiant effort but the final score would remain
4-0.
"You never want to be satisfied
with a loss especially one that ends the season, but I was really pleased
with our play. Johnson is a very good team. To keep it to 1-0 at the
half and 2-0 midway through the second half is nothing to be ashamed
of. It would have been nice to see what we could have done with 11 players
for the entire match. I'd like to think that we might have been able
to create at least one goal. If you get one, who knows what can happen.
But Johnson definitely deserved to win. They were the better team today.
Maybe some day we'll figure out a way to beat them. But I'm extremely
proud of all my players. We played hard and never backed down."
"Now all we can do is start looking
toward getting some solid freshmen in here for next year and try to
improve on what we did this year. We've improved each year that I've
been here so hopefully the trend will continue."