Manhattan took the win against Great Bend High 2-1 in extra time after going down 1-0 in the first half of the match away Thursday afternoon. 

While MHS usually beats Bend, the team was stronger this year than in previous years.  

“It was probably one of the best Great Bend teams I’ve played,” senior Hunter French said.

Despite former success, MHS came into the game expecting it to be one of the more challenging games of the season. The Manhattan team being younger this year and Great Bend having 15 seniors on their roster made the game more competitive than previously. 

“I was expecting a challenge …  because in the summer we only beat them 1-0,” junior Cole Schmitt said. “I expected us to win, but it was a good game.”

According to head coach Mike Sanchez, the game was more physical than the team is used to, but they used that as an opportunity to improve defense against those teams. 

“We’re responding a lot better to physical teams,” Sanchez said. “[Physicality] really [is] not our M.O., but we’re adapting to those teams that want to play a little bit more of a physical style.”

The first half of the game was slow, with neither side getting many opportunities and Manhattan lacking in possession until the end of the half, when they had their first shot on target. However, Great Bend took the lead six minutes to go. 

“[The goal conceded] was in the first half, so we had a lot of time left,” Schmitt said. “We knew we… would get a couple more chances and we knew we’d put away one of those chances and if the first one came, a second one would.”

The team was confident it could come back to win from behind at the half.

“At halftime, I just told [the team] that we were capable of coming back,” Sanchez said. “I expected that we should come back and win 3-1. But … we’ll take a 2-1 victory.”

The second half started with a multitude of chances for MHS and saves from junior Caleb DeLoach. Manhattan eventually tied it 1-1 with a goal from Schmitt off of a set piece with 15 minutes left in the game. The match went to the 80th without another goal, forcing the game into extra time. 

Centennial League extra time rules have two 10-minute extra time halves before calling the game a draw. In the second half of extra time, with just 44 seconds left in the match, French was fouled in the box while dribbling past a defender, winning a penalty for Manhattan. French took the penalty himself and scored to win the match. 

“I think we dominated play more in the second half,” French said. “I thought we started a little bit slow, but … building off [momentum in] the second half we came out strong in overtime.” 

Losing momentum has been a problem for MHS this season. This is the first game of the season in which Manhattan has conceded the first goal and came back to win the game. 

“I think [we improved] from previous games in the season … [because] once we gave up the goal we still wanted to fight,” Schmitt said. “When we lost to Wichita Heights [and] Wichita East  once … we conceded one I felt like … [we] gave up … This game we kept fighting, kept fighting, kept fighting and eventually got the goal.”

Manhattan plays Seaman High away today and Washburn Rural, one of the most anticipated matches of the season, at home Thursday night. None of the players on this year’s team have been on a team that beat Washburn; they’re hoping to change that.