The Emporia High boys soccer team’s offense was as cold as the chilly night air Monday at the TRYSA Soccer Complex.
Luckily for the Spartans, Highland Park’s offense was even colder, not that it made that much of a difference though.
Emporia High and Highland Park played to a double-overtime scoreless tie even though the Spartans clearly dictated tempo for much of the game and out-shot the Scots, 29-11.
“We got enough shots, they just didn’t go in,” EHS coach Steve Pearson said. “I’m trying to think of what we need to work on (today). Everything else looked good.
“We looked good all the way around ... we just blew a couple shots.”
The Spartans (1-3-2) had plenty of chances to break through, especially at the end of regulation and on through the two overtimes.
Time after time, the Emporia High strikers got good looks at the net, only to have Highland Park goalie Miguel Encinas get in the way of paydirt each time.
“Their goalie, he was good,” said sophomore Ryan Dorsey, who finished with three shots on goal. “He was outstanding, and he kept them in the game.”
Perhaps the best chance for the Spartans to end the game came with about 2 1/2 minutes to go in the second overtime.
After receiving a pass, junior Adrian Trujillo found himself staring down a wide-open net and an out-of-place goalie.
But Trujillo’s shot sailed high over the crossbar and out of play, something Pearson said was very unusual for Trujillo, who finished with seven shots on goal.
“Adrian had that opportunity that he sent into Chase County,” Pearson said, “and that’s just not like him, normally. We put him up there at the end of the game because he makes those shots, and he missed it. I can’t explain it. There was a magic force around that goal, and the ball just would not go in.”
The entire game up to that point was controlled mostly by the Spartans, who spent much of the night on the Scots’ side of the field.
But neither team could put together a score, and the Spartans were left with their second tie in as many games.
“It was a pretty good game,” sophomore Gary Rivera said. “We were keeping the defense going and we were trying to score, it just didn’t happen. They did their job and we did ours. That’s just the game.”
Girls golf finishes 5th
at Centennial League
The Emporia High girls golf team finished in a tie for fifth at the Centennial League Inviational Monday in Topeka.
The Spartans finished with 444 points, tying Topeka West. Manhattan won the team championship with 320 points, led by Elise Houtz, who shot a 72 to take the individual title.
Alyssa Coffelt led Emporia High with a score of 107, which earned the senior the 16th-place medal. Maryann Bennett was not far behind, as she shot a 109, and she was followed closely by Amber Richard, who shot a 111.
Rachael Clopton (117), Hannah Watkins (126) and Aubrey Koeppe (132) rounded out the scoring for the Spartans.
The next action for the Spartans is on Sept. 28, as Emporia travels back to Topeka for the Seaman Invite.