Manhattan triumphs against Hayden
Senior Danny Tumera watches the ball upfield during the home game aganist Hayden on Oct 6. MHS won 3-0. Photo by Kris Long.
October 8, 2020
Freshman Gedrick Comiso starts a counterattack during Manhattan Boys Varisty soccer home game against Hayden on Oct 6. The game ended 3-0. Photo by Kris Long.
Senior Danny Tumera watches the ball upfield during the home game aganist Hayden on Oct 6. MHS won 3-0. Photo by Kris Long.
Manhattan High boys soccer won their home match against Hayden 3-0 on Tuesday. MHS won against Hayden 2-0 last year, and has beaten them every match for the past six years, but it has generally been a close match.
“I thought they’d be a little more challenging,” senior Gabe Effiong said. “They were a pretty decent team last year, so I came out expecting them to be a little harder.”
Manhattan came out slower than they would have liked, a consistent problem this season. However, they soon picked up the pace with a goal from freshman Gedrick Comiso — his first Varsity goal — and the assist from senior Lucas Smith Cauldas ten minutes in.
“It would have been nice to come out from the start, but we were a little bit sluggish coming out,” head coach Mike Sanchez said. “[Hayden] did a good job of getting numbers in the box, they put numbers behind the ball across the board. So it was kind of frustrating for our guys.”
MHS was on the attack for much of the first half, but were unable to finish their chances until five minutes before the half. Effiong dribbled it down the field to put them up 2-0, his first goal of the season, with the assist from Comiso.
“I’d been waiting most of the season from my first goal, and it finally came,” Effiong said. “So I think I can start picking it up now,”
Manhattan again dominated in the second half, but didn’t finish many of their chances. Senior Josh Lee sealed the match with a spectacular shot to the left corner with fifteen minutes left, also his first goal of the season.
“It felt great,” Lee said. “I’d been waiting for that.”
The team played hard the full 80 minutes on Tuesday, despite coming out slow. They hope to keep the intensity up for their next game away on Thursday against Topeka High.
“We probably could have scored more,” Effiong said. “I just think we need to improve the speed of our play, [and] use each other to the best of our abilities.”
The boys have two games until the postseason, playing Derby on Oct 12 after the Topeka High match.
“I don’t know that we’re quite there,” Sanchez said. “But I think we will be in three weeks.”
