It can really be difficult playing from behind in a high school boys’ soccer game.
That is precisely what Great Bend faced after Western Athletic Conference foe Dodge City took an early lead on Thursday evening at Cavanaugh Fields.
The Panthers couldn’t rebound, falling 3-1.
“They were able to score early,” Great Bend head coach Gus Prieto said. “I know it is hard to play against the wind. They scored early, but we played good in the first half. We had some chances. We’d control the ball for 10 or 15 minutes, and they’d come back with a long pass and score.”
Great Bend drops to 3-5 overall, 2-2 in WAC action.
Dodge City scored two goals in the first half. The first from Mario Lopez early in the game and the second from Tim Schwara just before halftime.
Lopez punched another shot into the net less than one minute into the second half.
The Panthers had the wind at their backs in the second half, allowing them to make longer passes.
Great Bend had eight shots on goal in the second half, several narrowly missing their mark.
Great Bend senior Emmanuel Poblano found the back of the net after taking a pass from Michael Prieto inside the Dodge City goalie’s box.
“Sometimes we are afraid to take shots,” Gus Prieto said. “Sometimes we look too long to make another pass when we should shoot the ball. We’ve been working with our forwards about that.
“We kept trying, and I thought our forwards did good today. They made some shots.”
The Great Bend junior varsity also lost 3-1 against Dodge City.
The Panthers are back in action on Saturday, playing host to Manhattan at Cavanaugh Fields. The junior varsity plays at 11 a.m., and the varsity game starts at 1 p.m.