Boys soccer draws Seaman after double overtime

Senior+Easton+Roberts+looks+for+an+open+man+for+a+thrown+in+during+the+Seaman+home+game+on+Sept+22.+The+teams+tied+1-1.+Photo+by+Kris+Long.

Senior Easton Roberts looks for an open man for a thrown in during the Seaman home game on Sept 22. The teams tied 1-1. Photo by Kris Long.

Kris Long, Sports Editor

Manhattan tied Seaman High 1-1 at the Tuesday night home game, coming back for the draw after going down in the opening minutes. 

After narrowly losing to Seaman last year 1-0, the boys expected a difficult match. The Vikings were 3-3 going into the game, coming off of a 1-8 loss last week to Olathe East. 

“I was expecting them to be a well-rounded team,” freshman Gedrick Comiso said. “I was expecting [them] to be very competitive with us. I thought they were gonna give us a run for our money.”

Seaman had the opening goal within a few minutes of the starting whistle, a 40-yard shot senior goalkeeper Caleb DeLoach could do nothing about. MHS was left fighting to tie it up for the rest of the first half but couldn’t get a goal in.

“It was frustrating,” senior Johannes Glymour said. “We’ve struggled with that all year, we just don’t start out with the intensity we need.” 

Despite being scoreless at the half, Manhattan had most of the chances and possession. Seaman’s high line broke repeatedly but MHS was unable to capitalize on any of the opportunities.

“I think we had chances,” head coach Mike Sanchez said. “We just [have] to take care of business and put our chances away. It’s like we have a forcefield around the goal right now.”

MHS came out fast in the second, however. The boys tied it up a few minutes in with a header from Glymour and the assist from Comiso. 

“I think we came out really well,” Comiso said. “We talked, we were just pumped up. And it showed on the field.”

They spent the rest of the night fighting for a winning shot. Again, they controlled the game, but repeatedly fell short of a point. 

Just before overtime, senior Micheal Ohler was sent off with a red. It seemed unfair, harsh and unsporting, and therefore entirely in line with the refereeing standard of Centennial League soccer. The crowd, players and coaches all protested the decision. Assistant coach Marshall Adams was also shown a red for challenging the referee. The call left MHS to fight their way through double overtime with ten men.

“If you ask me, it should have been a warning,” Sanchez said. “You know, it’s high school sports, we’re still trying to teach the game. Even though they may know better… sometimes you gotta be a little bit tolerant.”

MHS showed promise during overtime despite the score ending 1-1. They could have easily won the match with the amount of chances earned in the final minutes.

“I think we could have won the game with just 10 guys,” Gylmour said. “We had the ball on our side of the field most of the overtime.”

Manhattan played Washburn Rural, a historic rival, away last Thursday and lost 0-1. Rural has beaten MHS in every game since 2013, which they tied. With Manhattan and Washburn being some of the better teams in the Centennial League, it’s always been a close match. 

“There’s a lot of respect between their coach and myself,” Sanchez said.

When asked about Washburn’s long throw-in style, Sanchez maintains Manhattan will not stoop to their level.

“We try to play soccer,” he said.

Senior Easton Roberts looks for an open man for a thrown in during the Seaman home game on Sept 22. The teams tied 1-1. Photo by Kris Long.

Boys soccer has had a busy week, tieing Seaman 1-1 last Tuesday,  falling to rivals Washburn Rural 1-0 on Thursday and bringing Junction City to mercy last night.

After narrowly losing to Seaman last year 1-0, the boys expected a difficult match. 

“I was expecting them to be a well-rounded team,” freshman Gedrick Comiso said. “I thought they were gonna give us a run for our money.”

Seaman had the opening goal within minutes of the starting whistle, and MHS was left fighting to tie it up for the rest of the first half but couldn’t get a goal in.

“I think we had chances,” head coach Mike Sanchez said. “We just [have] to take care of business and put our chances away. It’s like we have a forcefield around the goal right now.”

MHS came out fast in the second, however. The boys tied it up a few minutes in with a header from senior Johannes Glymour and the assist from Comiso. 

“I think we came out really well,” Comiso said. “We talked, we were just pumped up. And it showed on the field.”

They spent the rest of the night fighting for a winning shot through double overtime. The match was complicated by a questinable late red card given to senior Micheal Ohler, putting the team at 10 men for the last half hour. 

“I think we could have won the game with just 10 guys,” Gylmour said. “We had the ball on our side of the field most of the overtime.”

Manhattan played Washburn Rural, a historic rival, away last Thursday and lost 0-1. Rural has beaten MHS in every game since 2013, which they tied. With Manhattan and Washburn being some of the better teams in the Centennial League, it’s always been a close match. 

“There’s a lot of respect between their coach and myself,” Sanchez said.

When asked about Washburn’s long throw-in style, Sanchez maintains Manhattan would not stoop to their level.

“We try to play soccer,” he said.