The Dodge City High School Red Demon soccer team is closing the regular season with two games against some of the top competition in the region.
Monday saw the Demons lose a heartbreaker 4-3 at Memorial Stadium against the Wichita East Blue Aces after enjoying a 3-2 lead for most of the second half.
"I thought it was one of the best efforts we've had all season," said Demon coach Virgil Hutchcraft. "If we come in here Thursday and give that effort again, we can run with Liberal."
The Blue Aces struck first on a 90-footer by midfielder Jake Taylor. They were able to keep the Demons' team speed at bay by trapping Demon attackers and goading them offside.
"We really let that affect our play, especially in the first 20 minutes of the game," Hutchcraft said. "It's something we went over pretty hard at halftime."
Dodge City (10-5) had several chances to even the score, as most of the game was played on East's side of the field. But the Demons were unable to score an equalizing goal until the 30th minute, when junior midfielder Julian Sanchez put one over the head of East keeper Gary Rodriguez. Adrian Alvarez assisted on the goal.
The Demons came back and took the lead in the 39th minute, when sophomore forward Victor Millan stole the ball away from an East defender and snuck the ball into the left side of the net before he went out of bounds. The Demons took a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Only five minutes into the second half, Taylor scored again for the Blue Aces and tied the score at 2 after beating two Demon defenders to the box. After the ensuing kickoff, junior defender Javier Rojas took the ball from midfield and juked four East defenders out of their shoes en route to his unassisted goal in the 46th minute.
In the 60th minute, East attacker Joseph Yun had a one-on-one opportunity against Demon goalkeeper Cesar Carmona, but Carmona just tipped Yun's offering and sent it wide of the goal to preserve the lead for the Demons. As the clock wound down, the Demons began to play keep-away with the Aces to hold onto their one-goal lead.
"We attacked pretty well the entire game," Hutchcraft said. "We were just trying to be too perfect on our shots. We need to take the first shot, not look for a better shot when one presents itself."
After 33 minutes of looking for a good shot, one suddenly presented itself to Ace forward Alex Ake in the 79th minute. On a Wichita East throw-in, a Demon defender got a bad touch on the ball, sending it up into the air.
Ake was in good position to receive the loose ball and put it past Carmona to tie the game with little more than one minute remaining in regulation.
In the seventh minute of the first overtime period, East's Ronnie Kilmer scored the match's golden goal on a rebound after a missed shot. The game was ended on Kilmer's goal in the sudden-death overtime format.
"We just lost our marks when we thought the ball was going to be brought in by the keeper," Hutchcraft said.
The junior varsity Red Demons tied their match with the Blue Aces 1-1 before the varsity match. Both goals were scored in the first half, and Saul Sanchez scored Dodge City's goal.
Both teams will host Liberal Thursday in the last matches of the regular season.
The JV match will kick off at 5 p.m. The varsity game, which will feature senior recognition, will begin upon completion of the JV match.
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The Dodge City High School Red Demon soccer team is closing the regular season with two games against some of the top competition in the region.
Monday saw the Demons lose a heartbreaker 4-3 at Memorial Stadium against the Wichita East Blue Aces after enjoying a 3-2 lead for most of the second half.
"I thought it was one of the best efforts we've had all season," said Demon coach Virgil Hutchcraft. "If we come in here Thursday and give that effort again, we can run with Liberal."
The Blue Aces struck first on a 90-footer by midfielder Jake Taylor. They were able to keep the Demons' team speed at bay by trapping Demon attackers and goading them offside.
"We really let that affect our play, especially in the first 20 minutes of the game," Hutchcraft said. "It's something we went over pretty hard at halftime."
Dodge City (10-5) had several chances to even the score, as most of the game was played on East's side of the field. But the Demons were unable to score an equalizing goal until the 30th minute, when junior midfielder Julian Sanchez put one over the head of East keeper Gary Rodriguez. Adrian Alvarez assisted on the goal.
The Demons came back and took the lead in the 39th minute, when sophomore forward Victor Millan stole the ball away from an East defender and snuck the ball into the left side of the net before he went out of bounds. The Demons took a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Only five minutes into the second half, Taylor scored again for the Blue Aces and tied the score at 2 after beating two Demon defenders to the box. After the ensuing kickoff, junior defender Javier Rojas took the ball from midfield and juked four East defenders out of their shoes en route to his unassisted goal in the 46th minute.
In the 60th minute, East attacker Joseph Yun had a one-on-one opportunity against Demon goalkeeper Cesar Carmona, but Carmona just tipped Yun's offering and sent it wide of the goal to preserve the lead for the Demons. As the clock wound down, the Demons began to play keep-away with the Aces to hold onto their one-goal lead.
"We attacked pretty well the entire game," Hutchcraft said. "We were just trying to be too perfect on our shots. We need to take the first shot, not look for a better shot when one presents itself."
After 33 minutes of looking for a good shot, one suddenly presented itself to Ace forward Alex Ake in the 79th minute. On a Wichita East throw-in, a Demon defender got a bad touch on the ball, sending it up into the air.
Ake was in good position to receive the loose ball and put it past Carmona to tie the game with little more than one minute remaining in regulation.
In the seventh minute of the first overtime period, East's Ronnie Kilmer scored the match's golden goal on a rebound after a missed shot. The game was ended on Kilmer's goal in the sudden-death overtime format.
"We just lost our marks when we thought the ball was going to be brought in by the keeper," Hutchcraft said.
The junior varsity Red Demons tied their match with the Blue Aces 1-1 before the varsity match. Both goals were scored in the first half, and Saul Sanchez scored Dodge City's goal.
Both teams will host Liberal Thursday in the last matches of the regular season.
The JV match will kick off at 5 p.m. The varsity game, which will feature senior recognition, will begin upon completion of the JV match.
