WICHITA — The Great Bend High School girls’ soccer team has done something it has never done before — make it to the championship game of the Wichita Titan Classic.
On Wednesday, the Lady Panthers shut down host Wichita South 2-0 to advance to the championship game on Saturday against Emporia at 2 p.m.
GBHS began the game by scoring after one minute, 15 seconds of play.
Junior midfielder Berenice Prieto beat the Lady Titans’ defense inside the goalie box and got a shot off.  Wichita South’s goalkeeper was able to deflect the shot, but Kaylee Kershner was there to gather the loose ball and drill a shot into the net.
“They were a really, really strong team,” GBHS head coach Gus Prieto said. “They were very tall and very strong girls. We just controlled the ball better. We had a good game today. We just kept control of the ball very well.”
The Lady Panthers took a 1-0 lead into half. It wasn’t until 12 minutes remained in the game that Great Bend scored again.
This time Brandi Schneider scored after getting a pass from Berenice Prieto inside the goalie’s box.
“It was a really good goal,” Gus Prieto said. “After we got that second goal, we controlled the ball for the last 10 minutes.”
It will be the first time that the Lady Panthers have played in the championship game at the classic.
“I think the team has been playing in the tournament for eight to 10 years now,” Prieto said. “This is the first time for the girls to play in the championship. Everybody is excited.
“It is really good for us. It is really good for the team. I hope we can continue winning games like this.”
Emporia advanced to the championship game by defeating Dodge City 5-1.