Garden City drops defensive battle to Cloud

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Garden City, KS-Broncbuster Coach Corey Bryant's strategy was to pack 11 players onto the defensive end of the field. And for the first 68 minutes it worked. But Cloud County finally wore them down, scoring three goals over the final 21 minutes in a 3-0 victory Wednesday afternoon at Broncbuster Stadium.

Kaylee Keller recorded a season best 26 saves, some of them in spectacular fashion. But the Thunderbirds, who put constant pressure on the Broncbusters, outshooting them 50-3, broke through in the 69^th minute when Marina Lima lined a shot off of Keller. But the sophomore stayed with it, blasting the rebound into the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage.

Less than six minutes later, the Thunderbirds extended the lead when Izabella Mine dribbled into the box, circled around two defenders, and slipped one past Keller for a 2-0 cushion. They added their final score of the game thanks Gabriela Vargas, who set up Franciele Cupertino, who sent a rocket into the net for a 3-0 lead.

Vargas led the Thunderbirds with 11 shots, five of those on goal. In fact, three of those hit the crossbar. 

The Broncbusters are back home on Saturday against Hesston. Match time set for 4:30 p.m.