EARL WATT
• Leader & Times
One of the top players in Kansas, Suain Moncayo, was not able to play with the No. 3 (MaxPreps) Liberal Redskins Thursday, but it didn’t seem to matter. The Redskins overcame a slow start and ran away with a 9-1 win to move to 5-0 in the final tune-up game before No. 4 (MaxPreps) and nationally ranked No. 9 Dodge City comes to Redskin Field Tuesday.
The Redskins trailed for the first time all season when Hesston scored a goal six minutes into the game. Five minutes later, Alan Baeza tied the score off an assist from Diego Pavia. Liberal took the lead 16:38 into the game when Johnny Young passed the ball to Jaden Gonzalez who kicked it in for the 2-1 advantage.
Midway through the first half the Redskins took a 3-1 lead with a goal from Josh Garcia off an assist from Giezi Gonzalez. The Redskins continued to find the net when Aron Duque was abel to capitalize on a penalty kick after Hesston was called for a hand ball in the box, and the Redskins had a 4-1 lead. Young became the fifth Redskin to score in the first half off an assist from Garcia, and Damian Rios was the sixth to score in the first half when he rebounded a loose ball from Davian Franco and put in the goal for a 6-1 halftime lead.
Jaden Gonzalez scored his second goal of the game of a free kick five minutes into the second half, and Pavia added his second goal 11 minutes into the second half off an assist from Gonzalez, and the Redskins had an 8-1 lead. Alex Pedroza ended the game 15 minutes early when he took a pass from Giovani Berrera and put it in the goal for the mercy rule 9-1 win.
Still, the slow start early was a concern for head coach Carlos Ruiz.
“We learned a lot from it,” he said. “We were a little loose starting the game, it was a slow start. I am glad Hesston woke us up. We haven’t been down all season. It took us a while to get into rhythm, but this was a great crowd. It could be intimidating for the opponent, but it was our home owner and our guys were overly excited.”
Once the nerves were under control, the Redskins found their stride.
“We readjusted and played well,” Ruiz said. “I’m glad we got the wake up call because we have some big games next week.”
The aggression for the Redskins led to several offsides calls, but when the timing was on, Liberal put the ball in the box and nine times in the net.
“I think we had the record for offsides today,” Ruiz quipped. “It indicates we have a lot of guys who can put the ball in the net. We played without one of the best strikers in the state, so other guys had to step up. We put in some of our JV and freshmen players. I was proud of how many scored and how we put plays together in the second half.”
Even with a 6-1 lead at half, Ruiz said he didn’t believe his team was playing up to expectations.
“The locker room wasn’t so nice,” he said. “I told the guys I didn’t recognize them. We connected on passes in the second half, played quick, we were patient when we need to be, and now I am glad we had this home opener out of the way, and we can be ready for Dodge next Tuesday.”
It’s possible Liberal was looking past Hesston, and that could have contributed to the slow start.
“We are guilty of overlooking this one,” Ruiz said. “We were excited for the home opener, but we were thinking of Dodge City. Every game has to be our best. It’s the only way we can remain on top. The guys saw the rankings, and they were excited. It messed with us a bit, more than it should have.”
