Soccer falls to Washburn at sub-state
November 6, 2015
The following was written as an assignment for the 21st Century Journalism class.
A Washburn Rural kicks a free kick Tuesday night in Topeka.
Junior Connall Root heads a ball Tuesday night in Topeka.
Senior Gardner Blanck looks to keep the ball inbounds against Wasburn Rural defenders Tuesday night in Topeka.
Senior Jake Bussmann heads a ball towards teammate Gabe Awbrey Tuesday night in Topeka.
Senior Jake Bussmann tries to regain control of the ball Tuesday night in Topeka.
Senior Matt Turnley passes to a teammate Tuesday night in Topeka.
Senior Matt Turnley fights for control of the ball Tuesday night in Topeka.
Sophomore Nate Awbrey dribbles the ball Tuesday night in Topeka.
Senior Tanner Dillon dribbles away from a Rural defender Tuesday night in Topeka.
A Washburn forward takes a free kick Tuesday night in Topeka. The kick missed the mark.
Watching their rival team cheering their way to State, the Manhattan High School boys’ soccer team huddled under the slowly dimming lights of Washburn Rural’s soccer field. There wasn’t a victory party, and there weren’t ecstatic cheers of “Indians” as they left the grounds of their team’s rival school. Teammates embraced, their tears mixing on sweat ridden jerseys they would likely never wear again.
MHS fell to Washburn Rural on Tuesday, Oct. 3, in Topeka.
“We knew what we had to do, and we just didn’t do it,” senior defender Tanner Dillon said.
The MHS boys’ soccer team lost at Washburn 1-0, with the Indians just falling short in the second half. Washburn, after knocking out MHS last year, had the confidence and persistence of a team who knew how to beat their rivals.
“That’s how they play every year,” Dillon said. “They just get on you as fast as they can and they try to get physical there. They try to win like that, let that be how they win the game.”
Neither team scored in the first half. The teams grappled for control of the ball until a referee pulled out yellow cards on several players of the MHS team.
“We couldn’t get anything to really go in our favor,” senior forward Kirkland Lambert said
“Well obviously this is the biggest event on our calendar every year,” he said.
In the second half, the Indians struggled to score, and the referees pulled more cards. The game hadn’t turned out as planned, Lambert said. “We got the bad end of the stick this year, but yeah they’re a good team. The way they’re playing they’re good at it. The whole game, I mean Ethan [Engelhorn], just one little slip up in the back.”
The MHS boys’ soccer team was 15-3 before losing on Tuesday night, dropping them from the chance to play at State. MHS ended their 2015 season 15-4.
“Just this whole season was amazing, and we broke pretty much every record there was,” Dillon said. “And just, it was just a lot of fun. We’ve been playing with all these guys for like eight years, and just this whole season was fun.”
Kathryn Woods • Nov 7, 2015 at 8:56 am
Great article. Keep up the good work! Kathryn Woods