The Emporia High soccer team defeated Wichita Northwest 3-1 Wednesday night in Wichita, giving the Spartans a 2-0 start to the year.
All the scoring came in the second half, with freshman Hector Najera getting EHS on the board with 26 minutes remaining. Najera scored off an assist from Saul Trujillo.
“He just sent the ball to the middle... and the goalie came out, the goalie somehow missed it,” Emporia coach Angel Cornejo said. “And Hector just... followed the ball all the way to the goal and then pushed it in. There was a defender next to him the whole time, so he had to shield the ball and push it in.”
A Trujillo corner kick set up the second goal, which came from Arnoldo Torres. Wichita Northwest’s goalie caught the kick, but then came down on top of one of the Northwest defenders, and the ball came loose. Torres got to the ball and kicked it in. The Northwest defender was injured on the play and had to be taken to the hospital.
The Spartans’ final goal came from Luis Guzman, who had been relegated to junior varsity during the preseason for disciplinary reasons. Playing his first varsity game of the year, the senior booted an unassisted shot from about the 30-yard line and got it over the keeper.
“Right after he scored that goal, he just ran to me, gave me a hug,” Cornejo said. “That was a good feeling. (For) him, I think it’s good relief, and I’m just happy for Luis (that) he got that out of his chest.”
Emporia was 1:06 away from posting a shutout when Northwest netted its only goal. Spartan keeper Cory Obermeyer, who Cornejo said had “an amazing night,” saved the other 10 shots against him.
The Spartans will head to Wichita again next week to play in the Titan Classic. Their first opponent will be Wichita East at 9 a.m. Monday.