BULLPUP KICKERS HAND MUSTANGS 3-1 LOSS!
By William for http://www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
(Post is SPONSORED by CROSSDOVE WRITERS)
SALINA – While the coach said it wasn’t pretty and they had to play half a game without their offensive star, the McPherson High boys soccer team still managed to take a road trip to Salina on Thursday and battle with always tough Salina Central and bring home a 3-1 victory in the process.
The Bullpups got on the board first and early when Rhett Edmonson buried a shot into the net off an assist from Jael Jaime. It wasn’t long before Edmonson supplied an assist to Britton Haigh who then buried his own kick into the net to give McPherson a 2-0 advantage in the first half.
Tyler Hoxie added a goal in the second half to give the Bullpups their 3-1 victory which was the sixth win in seven games on the season. One low point in the game came when McPherson’s offensive dynamo Drew Schrader took a hard hit late in the first half and was unable to play in the second half.
One again, Nathan Lloyd had control of the nets for the Bullpups as he made five saves in goal attempts by the Mustangs. McPherson had a total of seven shots on goal for the game.
“It wasn’t pretty tonight, but the boys were able to grind out a result,” noted Bullpup Head Coach Chris Adrian. “The game started perfectly as both Rhett (Edmonson) and Britton (Haigh) both scored a goal early on to give us a 2-0 lead but give Salina Central credit for never quitting. It was a physical game and fatigue really began to set in with this being our fifth difficult way game in a row.”
Coach Adrian concluded his post-game reflections by talking about the players, saying, “With Drew (Schrader) not playing in the second half due to a hard hit late in the first half, other players had to step up which they did. Trenton (Stecklein) and Tyler (Hoxie) both had really big games and had some key tackles and challenges when it looked like Salina was going to have a chance to score. Rhett Edmonson’s long throw was a great weapon and his play in the midfield was key again. That’s now six wins out of seven for this team against some really solid competition with a lot of the games being tied or within a goal going into the final ten minutes. That tells you something about this team and what they are made of. They have a winner’s mentality and always believe in themselves.”
In the junior varsity game, the Bullpups also came away the winner with a 2-1 advantage on the scoreboard. Reid Schuckman scored both the McPherson junior varsity goals with assists from Tyler Bontrager and Josh Everhart.
After five straight games on the road, the Bullpup kickers will be back at home on Tuesday, September 24, when they play host to Mulvane at McPherson College Stadium. Opening kick for the varsity will be at 7:30 p.m. while the junior varsity will play at 6:00 p.m.
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