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Business News
Independence, MO —
Don’t misunderstand Truman boys soccer coach Jared Byrne.
He was extremely happy to pull out a 2-1 Senior Night victory over Blue Springs on Wednesday at Truman High School.But the thing is, districts are rapidly approaching, and Byrne still sees a lack of consistency from squad that won’t cut it in the postseason.
Take the start of the second half against the Wildcats. Truman led 1-0 after getting a goal from freshman Guillermo Rodriguez in the third minute. But after halftime, the Patriots came out lackadaisically.
“We just came out flat-footed,” Byrne said. “Offensively, we were playing slow with the ball. That cost us transition. Defensively, we weren’t in position, we weren’t marking up, we weren’t communicating. There’s no excuse for that.”
The Pats (11-8) allowed a tying goal to Blue Springs senior Carlos Vasquez after failing to clear a ball in their own box that Vasquez seized and slipped past Truman junior goalkeeper Alex Villa.
The good news is the Pats still found a way to finish the job. With four minutes left, senior midfielder Zach Felz headed a ball into the Blue Springs box that senior forward Greger Dalheim knocked in for a game-winner. The score was especially sweet since the Wildcats clipped Truman earlier this season with a goal in the final minute.
“That was fantastic,” Dalheim said. “We’ve lost some close games in the past and it was so good getting that win against a team that’s as good as us.”
Byrne said his team fought hard the entire match, it was just a matter of remaining alert for the game’s entirety. Villa admitted that bad habit has cost the Pats at different times this season.
“I can see what he’s talking about,” Villa said. “We didn’t play our best at all.”
But for now, the Pats played well enough. And the victory provided an emotional lift against a team Truman could see in districts.
“Honestly, their name – Blue Springs – it always intimidates everyone,” Villa said. “We knew we could change that because we’re up there now.”
The Wildcats (6-9) are dealing with their own issues right now, which includes a barrage of injuries that has hit the squad. They were without sophomore forward Connor Wheeler, who was out with bronchitis, and then junior goalkeeper Josh Hubner went down with a concussion early in Wednesday’s match and junior midfielder Brandon Shipman suffered a knee injury in the final minute.
“We’ve been fighting some things that I think every team goes through,” Blue Springs coach Michael Palermo said. “We had the Blue Springs South tough rivalry game we lost (a 2-1 defeat on Monday) and I don’t think they’ve completely recovered from that. ... We just need to kind of step up our game a little bit again and get back to doing things we were doing when we were winning games.”
Don’t misunderstand Truman boys soccer coach Jared Byrne.
He was extremely happy to pull out a 2-1 Senior Night victory over Blue Springs on Wednesday at Truman High School.But the thing is, districts are rapidly approaching, and Byrne still sees a lack of consistency from squad that won’t cut it in the postseason.
Take the start of the second half against the Wildcats. Truman led 1-0 after getting a goal from freshman Guillermo Rodriguez in the third minute. But after halftime, the Patriots came out lackadaisically.
“We just came out flat-footed,” Byrne said. “Offensively, we were playing slow with the ball. That cost us transition. Defensively, we weren’t in position, we weren’t marking up, we weren’t communicating. There’s no excuse for that.”
The Pats (11-8) allowed a tying goal to Blue Springs senior Carlos Vasquez after failing to clear a ball in their own box that Vasquez seized and slipped past Truman junior goalkeeper Alex Villa.
The good news is the Pats still found a way to finish the job. With four minutes left, senior midfielder Zach Felz headed a ball into the Blue Springs box that senior forward Greger Dalheim knocked in for a game-winner. The score was especially sweet since the Wildcats clipped Truman earlier this season with a goal in the final minute.
“That was fantastic,” Dalheim said. “We’ve lost some close games in the past and it was so good getting that win against a team that’s as good as us.”
Byrne said his team fought hard the entire match, it was just a matter of remaining alert for the game’s entirety. Villa admitted that bad habit has cost the Pats at different times this season.
“I can see what he’s talking about,” Villa said. “We didn’t play our best at all.”
But for now, the Pats played well enough. And the victory provided an emotional lift against a team Truman could see in districts.
“Honestly, their name – Blue Springs – it always intimidates everyone,” Villa said. “We knew we could change that because we’re up there now.”
The Wildcats (6-9) are dealing with their own issues right now, which includes a barrage of injuries that has hit the squad. They were without sophomore forward Connor Wheeler, who was out with bronchitis, and then junior goalkeeper Josh Hubner went down with a concussion early in Wednesday’s match and junior midfielder Brandon Shipman suffered a knee injury in the final minute.
“We’ve been fighting some things that I think every team goes through,” Blue Springs coach Michael Palermo said. “We had the Blue Springs South tough rivalry game we lost (a 2-1 defeat on Monday) and I don’t think they’ve completely recovered from that. ... We just need to kind of step up our game a little bit again and get back to doing things we were doing when we were winning games.”
