The Cardinals soccer team snapped its three-game losing streak Thursday night with a 2-0 win over Bonner Springs.
The win puts the Cardinals at 6-6 on the season and matches their win total from all of last year.
Head coach Darren Erpelding said to have as many wins as they did last year with four games remaining in the regular season is huge for the team.
“To match it this early is great because we’ve got games coming in front of us that are going to be tough,” Erpelding said. “But being able to get that done and then give ourselves an opportunity to continue to move up the rankings for regionals, that’s really big for us.”
The team’s victory was also special because it came on Kick Cancer Night. Both teams wore special jerseys in support of McKenna Royer, who is battling cancer. Royer also got to score a goal and take pictures with the teams during a halftime ceremony.
Senior Christian Koehn said the night was very important to the team to support anyone who is battling cancer.
“This night meant a lot to me,” Koehn said. “All the people out there with cancer, I don’t really know what you guys are going through, but I’m there for you guys, wherever you guys are.”
With the extra motivation, the Cardinals came out of the gates aggressive on offense as they controlled possession early.
About seven minutes into the game, senior Derek Lehmann put the Cardinals on the board with a goal. Senior Ayden Ramirez provided the assist on the play.
Lehmann said he and Ramirez were on the same page to make the play happen.
“I saw Ayden going to inline, and I just wanted to check in because I knew he was going to slot the ball right to where I was,” Lehmann said. “I just got my foot on it. Hit it right above the keeper.”
The Cardinals kept pushing the envelope on offense as the team remained in control throughout the first half. Bonner Springs did not attempt a shot until there was about 17:30 left in the first half.
Lehmann said it was nice to establish some early momentum on offense, and he hopes to see it continue this season.
“We’ve been kind of struggling a lot recently with just possessing the ball and just playing as a team,” Lehmann said. “So, getting a breakthrough tonight kind of helped us a lot in our morale to go into the future games.”
With just under 10 minutes left in half, Koehn tacked on another goal to double the Cardinals’ lead.
Koehn said the Braves’ defense got distracted watching others on the field, which allowed him to find some space for the goal. Senior Kaden Kerr was credited with the assist.
Just before halftime, Ramirez scored a goal to give the Cardinals a three-goal advantage, but had it waved off on a controversial offsides call.
Erpelding said the team’s first half performance was about as good as they have played all season.
“It was absolutely fantastic,” he said. “That’s what we were doing this summer and that’s what we’ve been working for.”
The Cardinals kept playing with high effort in the second half, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Neither could the Braves.
Koehn said the team’s discussion on the field helped complete the shutout.
“Communication is the key detail on defense,” he said. “Even if you aren’t the most athletic, just communication and knowing where to go is the best part about it.”
Junior goalkeeper Nate Steinlage contributed to the cause as well with five saves on the night. Thursday night’s shutout marked the team’s third shutout of the season as well.
As the team heads into the final quarter of regular season games, Erpelding wants to see his team pick up some steam before the playoffs.
“Really what I want, whether we win all four, whether we go 2-2, whatever it is, is that we are playing our best soccer going in and somebody has to beat us just because they played better than us,” Erpelding said. “So, if we can do that, we’ll be riding a pretty good wave going into the playoffs.”
The Cardinals start their playoff push Monday on the road against Heritage Christian Academy.
Watch the Kaw Valley State Bank post-game show to hear more from Lehmann, Koehn and Erpelding.
Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected]
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