Boys soccer keeps rolling

Boys+soccer+keeps+rolling

Adviser

When the boys soccer team lost its first game of the season in the Titan Classic final to No. 2 ranked Dodge City, the season could have headed in one of two directions.

They could have sulked or, they could have learned from the loss.

The team chose the latter.

Since that loss, North has won seven straight, outscoring their opponents 39-2, including six straight shutouts.

“We learned that when we found ourselves trailing in the game that everyone started trying to do too much individually to make a play,” Coach Curt Wullschleger said of the loss to Dodge City. “That individual play took away from our combination play as one cohesive unit.  We also learned that we can dominate possession, even on the state champions.”

North has been able to balance a high scoring offense with a suffocating defense. It’s something Wullschleger is most proud of with this team.

“We rely on our three principles of defense: pressure, cover, & balance.  The team puts immediate pressure on the ball anywhere on the field to create turnovers which lead to opportunities.  We cover each other in case a player gets beat.  We know that we have help behind us which allows us the ability to be very aggressive, yet patiently containing in our challenges on the ball,” he said.

Senior Goalkeeper Jesse Ortiz is most proud of the shutouts.

“Communication between me and the defenders has been the key,” he said. “We’ve been playing together since fourth grade so we know each other so well.”

North will look to continue its streak this week during the North Cup. They defeated Garden City 5

-0 yesterday and will take on Liberal today at 3:30 p.m. on the turf field.