MAIZE, Kan. – The McPherson High School Boys Soccer team started their season this week at the Maize South Soccer Invitational, playing in the first two rounds Tuesday, Sept. 9, and Thursday, Sept. 11.
The Bullpups suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Wichita East to start the tournament Tuesday evening. The match was tied 1-1 in the closing minutes, but East took the lead on a last-minute breakaway to take the lead. “It was a heartbreaking way to lose a game, knowing we only needed 60 more seconds to send the game to a shootout where we really liked our chances at completing the upset win,” head coach Chris Adrian said.
Following the loss, the Bullpups bounced back to defeat Wichita Northwest 3-2 on Thursday. Manny Morales backed up the goal he scored on Tuesday with another in the first half on Thursday. Parker Riemann and Jackson Martin scored in the second half to give the Bullpups the victory.
“[Thursday] was all about the response,” Adrian said. “How would the team compete with sore legs and without one of our key defenders missing due to illness? The adversity was there, but we always tell the team, ‘Adversity equals opportunity.’ They took the challenge and played a great game. Players that didn’t play much Tuesday stepped up and made a huge difference.”
The Bullpups will close out the Maize South Invitational Saturday, Sept. 13, at noon for the 5th Place game against Andover.
