No stars, no problem; Buffs’ soccer wins playoff opener
Garden City, Kan (westernkansasnews.com)-Normally when your so-called stars are missing in action, your team suffers. In Garden City’s case, it was just the opposite.
With senior Erik Barragan out after picking up a red card last week and freshman Alex Morales ineligible, Garden City turned to David Amaro, whose four goals powered a 9-1 victory over Haysville Campus Tuesday night in the first round of the 6A playoffs.
“I had to step up honestly,” Amaro said. “I guess I did have a little pressure on me. But I knew I had to go in there and get it done.”
That he did, and on a night where the Buffs were missing more than 70 percent of their offensive attack, Amaro was sensational. The senior scored two goals in the final four minutes of the first half before netting two more in the first 12 minutes of the second.
Luis Carmona, who will be taking part in Friday’s cross country state meet in Lawrence, scored twice, while Alex Vasquez, Sebastian Kyaw and Erik Hernandez also found the back of the net.
“We have other guys besides those two that can play,” Head Coach Joaquin Padilla said afterwards. “And they proved that tonight.”
Garden City improved to 13-4 with the victory, which sets up a showdown with Wichita Northwest on Thursday.
“We’ve been to this point each of the past two years and have failed,” Padilla said. “So we have to learn from it.”
Other Scores
Dodge City 5, Topeka 1
