By Staff for www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
NEWTON – The McPherson High boys soccer team opened the 2022 season in a rough way as they lost to Newton on the road 5-1 on Tuesday.
“The team started the game right as the boys competed extremely hard and went toe-to-toe with a really good Newton team for the first half of the game,” noted Bullpup head coach Chris Adrian. “The second half is where things fell apart and fatigue set in as it was obvious the boys didn’t have the energy to pressure defensively like they did in the first half.”
The lone score for the Bullpups came in the second half when Reid Schuckman put a free kick deep in the net.
Coach Adrian continued his reflections on the season opener by adding, “I needed to do a better job of managing minutes in the first half, so the players didn’t get exhausted. Newton scored an early goal in the second half and things snowballed and then before we knew it, they scored four more times. Reid (Schuckman) scored a beautiful free kick to get us on the board.”
For the game, McPherson only had three shots on goal while Joshua Wehrman made six saves in goal.
The junior varsity Bullpups also lost as the Railer JV humbled them 6-0.
Concluding his reflections, coach Adrian said, “This is something we will learn from. I was proud of how the boys didn’t quit and how they kept competing until the final whistle. We’ve got some work to do obviously, but it is the first game of the season and I have no doubt these boys are going to come motivated to practice and ready to improve together.”
On Tuesday, September 6 the Bullpups will return to the pitch to battle Andover in the first round of the Maize South Soccer Invitational.
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)