BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
The Great Bend underclassmen came well prepared for Thursday's Senior Night soccer celebration at Cavanaugh Field.
Junior Jillian Reimer, sophomore Brissa Leyva and freshman Yesenia Pulido scored goals as the Panthers paid tribute to the senior class with a 3-0 victory over Junction City Thursday. The Panthers (4-12) have improved by two wins (2-14) starting nine freshmen and sophomores.
"It's an amazing feeling to play soccer this way," Leyva said. "We've put in the work and improved. We're working together. Our coaches have made a positive impact on us. I enjoy playing with this team. "
Panther senior goalie Kimberly Escabedo saved a shot in a cameo appearance backing up goalie Grecia Dominguez. Other seniors are Evelyn Luna, Genesis Gonzalez, Natalia Ordonez, Jennifer Enriquez and Clara Vazquez..
Reimer, Leyva and Luna coordinated an attacking style and pin-point passing that kept pressure on Junction City goalie Brianna Jackson.
Luna fed a nifty crossing pass to Leyva, who scored after 7:43. When Leyva's rocket shot hit the post, Reimer converted the free ball past Jackson (13:42) for a 2-0 lead.
Reimer consistently struck quality shots. Leyva and Teegan Guerra also kept the pressure on the Blue Jays. Pulido celebrated her first varsity goal (56:30) after a quality Evelyn Luna attempt.
"We moved the ball around and got the ball to our forwards," said Great Bend coach Noel Rodriguez. "It's always good to get on the scoreboard. We've got good attackers. Jillian has been our leading scorer. All the girls providing assisting deserve credit. Our composure was good."
The Panthers finished 2-1 with three games in three days. Rodriguez said the Panthers have shown progress against the strong Western Athletic Conference teams.
"They've shown improvement. That's hard to tell when we're playing tough teams," he said. "We've seen great things happening as the season has gone along. These kids have worked hard."
PANTHERS 9, WICHITA SOUTH 0 — Evelyn Luna converted a trio of goals to power the Panthers past Wichita South 9-0 in Tuesday’s soccer showdown. Jillian Reimer, Natalia Rodriguez and Brissa Leyva each scored two goals.
Roxana Rodriguez, Greidys Moreno and Teegan Guerra each contributed two assists. Roxana Rodriguez and Natalia Rodriguez each dished out one assist.
PANTHER SCORING—GB—Jillian Reimer, assist Evelyn Luna; GB—Natalia Rodriguez, assist Greidys Moreno; GB—Reimer, assist Teegan Guerra; GB—Luna, assist Roxana Rodriguez; GB—Natalia Rodriguez, assist Guerra; GB—xLuna, assist Roxana Rodriguez; GB—Brissa Leyva, assist Natalia Rodriguez; GB—Luna; GB—Leyva, assist Moreno.
MANHATTAN 10, PANTHERS 0 — Class 6A Manhattan (10-4-1) powered past the Panthers 10-0 Wednesday.