WICHITA — The Great Bend High School girls’ soccer team came up short against Emporia, 2-0, in the championship game of the Wichita Titan’s Classic on Saturday.
The Lady Spartans jumped on Great Bend early, scoring both goals in the first few minutes of regulation.
“They scored at a minute to a minute and 15 second in and then again at one minute, 30 seconds,” GBHS head coach Gus Prieto said. “In the first half, we just seemed nervous out there.”
Nerves weren’t the only issue the Lady Panthers were fighting on the field. High winds made passing and controlling the ball difficult.
“It was very windy,” Prieto said. “In the first half, we had the wind on our side, and in the second half, they had the wind.”
In spite of having the winds at their backs, GBHS just couldn’t get the ball in the net.
“We had some chances to score,” Prieto said. “We had several chances, especially in the second half. (Emporia) scored their goals in the first half against the wind, and we played much better in the second half when we didn’t have the wind.”
In the second half, Prieto said the Lady Panthers looked like a different team.
“It looked like they had different attitudes,” Prieto said. “We controlled the ball better in the second half. We just didn’t score.”
Prieto said that this game gave his team some much needed experience.
“It was a good experience for the girls I think,” Prieto said. “Now they know they need to start strong. We have to score goals to win the game.”