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Panther soccer downs Hays Indians 4-1
Jaime Arellanes attcks.jpg
Great Bend playmaker Jaime Arellanes (10) dribbles in the midfield and builds up an attack against Hays High Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium. - photo by Hugo Gonzalez

BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

Great Bend's "heart-and-soul," midfielder Jaime Arellanes was everywhere, distributing the soccer ball and directing offensive traffic.

The Panthers' lightning-quick playmaker Arellanes scored two goals to spark the Panthers past rival Hays High 4-1 Tuesday on the Memorial Stadium turf.

Arellanes won the ball at midfield and sparked a quick-strike transition attack that scored three second-half goals in perfect 80-degree weather with 10 mph wind.

"Jaime is the heart of our team," said Great Bend coach Jesus Loera. "He works hard and keeps the guys motivated. That's what we does for our team. We're happy to have him on our side." 

Great Bend (3-4, 2-1 WAC) dominated time of possession to beat Hays High (2-5, 1-3 WAC) for the second time in three meetings. 

Arellanes scored his first goal (20:14) by blasting a first-half shot off a restart past Hays High goalie Cannon Meder.

The Indians scored off transition when Landen Clark fed a perfect pass to Blake Stieben (28:52), who beat Panther goalie Edwin Chavez for a 1-1 tie.

Loera liked how the Panthers responded with three goals in the next 16 minutes. Panther Alex Galindo (28:05) scored the go-ahead goal in the next minute.

Arellanes scored again (14:20) and Carlos Soto (12:46) floated a perfect shot past Meder for a 4-1 lead. 

The Panthers' pressure and one-touch passing kept the Indians chasing the "soccer rabbit."

"We moved the ball quicker today," Loera said. "Our guys with the ball brought in defenders. Once they saw that, there was space elsewhere on the field. That's what we did well today. We finished scores today." 

Also contributing were midfielder Jaden Hartshorn, defenders Juan Sanchez, Damian Rivas, Gustavo Alvarado, Brian Cervantes and forwards Roberto Gutierrez, Mario Arias, Cristian Ruiz, Jonathan Pasos, Elwin Fiso and Jason Villarreal.

"I'm very pleased," Loera said. "We've wanted a game where we dominated possession and controlled the game. What we did the second half is what we want to do."

Great Bend plays defending Western Athletic Conference champion Dodge City Thursday at 6:15 p.m. at Cavanaugh Field.