Great Bend High School fell behind on Saturday afternoon as Manhattan’s offense kept the Panthers defense struggling.
The Panthers fell 4-1 against the Indians at Memorial Stadium.
“We just made a few mistakes in the back, especially on the two corner kicks (in the second half),” Great Bend head coach Gus Prieto said. “We lost the players. We didn’t pay too much attention and they scored.”
Great Bend falls to 3-6 overall.
Manhattan’s Javier Gonzalez broke through first, scoring with less than 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
Great Bend was called for a foul in its own goalie’s box as time expired in the first half.
Andre Park punched in the penalty kick to give the Indians a 2-0 advantage at halftime.
“The (penalty kick) at the end of the half really affected us,” Prieto said. “Against the wind, if we finish 1-0, we can work with that, but another goal was too much, especially when they scored again in the second half.”
Misael Rodriguez knocked a header into the goal on a Park corner kick with 20:19 remaining in the game for Manhattan.
Emmanuel Poblano scored Great Bend’s goal with 6:53 remaining, closing the gap to 3-1, but Manhattan converted another corner kick with Adam Gray putting the ball in the net.
The Great Bend junior varsity lost 3-0 against the Indians.
The Panthers are back in action on Tuesday at home against Garden City. The junior varsity starts at 4 p.m., with the varsity following.