DesotoExplorer.com / Rough conditions play role in soccer's tie with KC Christian

Archive for Thursday, April 24, 2008

April 24, 2008

Sloppy conditions on a less than state-of-the-art field led to a scoreless soccer match between De Soto and Kansas City Christian Monday night.

De Soto took 17 shots, seven of which were on-goal in the contest, but didn't convert any of the looks into goals and the two teams tied after two overtime periods.

"They were mostly right at her (the goalkeeper)," coach Darren Erpelding said. "It was a matter of the ball running on people, it was getting too far away from them."

Part of the reason for that was the condition of the field. The middle of the field, Erpelding said, was bare dirt while parts of the perimeter were abnormally long. That meant anticipating how a ball rolled or bounced became difficult.

"You expect a ball that normally won't hop on you, and it hops and you get a bad touch," Erpelding said. "Or if you hit it too far the ground is hard and the ball rolls on you. You can't play smooth passes."

The field was also small, around 100 yards long, which affected De Soto's spacing on the offensive end. De Soto, with speedy attacker Nicole Radcliffe, got slowed down a little by the shortness of the field.

Four of the seven shots-on-goal for Eudora came on two shots each from Danielle Price and Radcliffe. Price also had a rough night on corner kicks and set shots.

"She couldn't get underneath the ball at all, because she was basically kicking off of a flat ground," Erpelding said. "There was nothing to prop the ball up on."

Had the conditions been better, Erpelding said the outcome could have been different.

"If it were on our field, they look better, for one, and we look better because we're a little more talented, and I think we probably win by one or two goals," he said. "I think we come away with a win, but that's also me being a little biased, too."

The loss moves the Wildcats' record to 5-4-2, and they next face Lansing on the road Thursday.