HAYS — The Great Bend High School boys’ soccer team shut down Thomas More Prep Marian on its home turf on Tuesday evening.
The Panthers got a hat trick from Michael Prieto, leading to a 4-0 win.
“We played a lot better today,” GBHS head coach Gus Prieto said. “We had about 20 to 25 shots on goal, but we missed a lot of shots.
“Our defense was playing a lot better, too. (TMP) had one shot in the second half, and it was a very long shot.”
Great Bend improves to 4-7 on the season.
Michael Prieto scored his first two goals on rebounds, one off a shot by Rafael Arias and the second off a shot by Ivan Galindo.
Before the end of the first half, Michael Prieto got a long pass from Arias and drove in a header to make it 3-0 at intermission.
“The wind was blowing really hard, and we had the wind in the first half,” Gus Prieto said. “It made it more difficult to move the ball, but we still played well.”
Emmanuel Poblano scored the final goal for the Panthers on an assist from Michael Prieto.
Great Bend travels to Garden City for a Western Athletic Conference game on Thursday. The junior varsity starts at 4 p.m., with the varsity following.

                                     — Kevin Price