Great Bend High School freshman forward Alondra Garcia kept her team from getting shut down completely on Tuesday afternoon against McPherson at Cavanaugh Soccer Fields.
Garcia scored the lone Lady Panthers goal in an 8-1 rout in Great Bend’s final home game of the regular season.
“It was a good shot,” Great Bend head coach Gus Prieto said. “It was on a throw in. She received the ball from Summer Bates. She controlled, dribbled around one of the defenders and took the shot. It was a good shot.”
Early on, the Lady Panthers (1-13) offense was able to move the ball against McPherson, with Garcia, Bates and Kenzie Sinclair leading the charge.
However, when Sinclair came out of the game after aggravating a previous rib injury, things started to slow down.
“They were playing well together,” Prieto said. “Then when she came out, the team went down. We were there. We had some good shots, but after Kenzie went down, we lost one of our big pieces. It was harder for us. My team came down.
“Before we started this game, we had five injuries. We have eight starters, so I had several JV players for us.”
The aggressive Lady Bullpups offense netted five goals in the first half, and Colleen O’Connor completed a hat trick with McPherson’s first goal of the second half.
“They have a really good player, O’Connor,” Prieto said. “She scored two goals where she got the ball in the center of the field and she went all the way. She went around every single person. They are aggressive.
“For us, we have young players, and they’re not used to playing like that.”
Great Bend travels to Junction City on Thursday for its final regular-season game, starting at 5 p.m.