By Kyle Lehnick
The Hays Lady Rebel soccer team took a tough home loss against the Anderson Lady Trojans in their final game of the regular season.
Friday’s game was tied 3-3 at the end of regulation and went to a penalty kick shootout, where Anderson out-kicked Hays by a 4-3 margin.
The Lady Trojans offense scored three goals in the first five minutes of the match. The first two goals occurred with 37:42 and 37:15 left in play. The third consecutive goal was scored on a free kick at the 35:45 mark.
Despite their early misfortune, the Lady Rebels persevered.
“We made some miscues defensively, and they took advantage,” head coach Brent Holcomb said. “That could’ve been it, but they didn’t let that defeat them, and it didn’t.”
Holcomb said his team’s approach to Friday’s game differed, as the pressure to stay in the chase for the playoffs loomed.
“We’ve been burned so many times lately because we’ve come out flat. Today, we came out mentally unbalanced, knowing we had to have the win to stay in it and we just weren’t on sound footing,” Holcomb said. “They got some through balls, we made mistakes and if that happens, we’re going to get burned.”
Hays’ trail toward a comeback began midway through the first half.
Gabriella Segovia found the net first for Hays off a corner kick with 27 minutes left in the first half. Anderson took a 3-1 lead into the halftime break before Hays tallied another goal in the second half.
Hays’ Maya Hood found the back of the net with a header after the ball bounced like a pinball inside the Trojan 18-yard box.
The game-tying goal came with 30:51 still to play in the second half. Kayla Humphries served up a corner kick and Mariah Gonzales was on the receiving end to knock the ball home.
From there, the game turned into a bit of a volleyball match, with neither team controlling possession.
“The goals in the first part of the second half were good, but there was a lot of unsettled, un-tactical play on both sides for most of that half,” Holcomb said.
With the game tied at 3-3 to end regulation, a best of five penalty kick shooout ensued.
Hays found the net on its first three shots while Anderson went two for three. But Hays missed its final two shots and the Trojans went one for two resulting in a 3-3 tie.
In the sixth round of kicks, Anderson found the net while the Rebel shot was blocked.
While the loss meant an end to the Lady Rebels playoff hopes, Holcomb said the team advanced their level of play and their speed of play this season.
“Every year has been a learning experience. Last year we wondered if we could even hang in this district, we proved that we could,” Holcomb said. “This year, our goal was to be competitive against the top four teams in district from last year and we did that. It was a good season in many ways.”
