By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Hayden girls soccer team battled a Class 6A power to a draw for 45 minutes and stayed in it to the final minutes, but the Wildcats faded late, falling 3-0 to Manhattan Thursday at Hayden.
The Wildcats and Indians dueled to a 0-0 tie at halftime in the Centennial League contest before a Manhattan goal at 34:36 of the second half put the Indians ahead, but near misses at their offensive end kept up Hayden’s hopes.
The Indians broke the game open with two late goals – at 4:35 and 3:34 – to drop Hayden to below .500 on the season, with the Wildcats falling to 5-6-1 while Manhattan improved to 9-4-1.
“I thought we had some opportunities in the second half, and I thought we were in the game until the last five or six minutes. But then we just rolled over and played dead,” said Hayden coach Klaus Kreutzer.
“They’re a good team. I don’t think they’re too good. But at the end of the day, you have to show up and play.”
Hayden plays a gauntlet of 5A and 6A schools plus some of the toughtest teams in the 4-1A classification. Does the challenge boost the girls’ confidence? Or does it break them down?
“It’s a little bit of both,” Kreutzer said. “It wears on them a little bit. It’s tough because of injuries -- we’re a little bit short.
“I think that they realize that they’re getting better. But having said that, sometimes when you play really good competition, it’s tough to play your game. And sometimes they just kind of react.”
With four games remaining on the regular-season slate, the Wildcats will honor their five seniors Friday in a home match with Seaman at 4 p.m.
MANHATTAN 3, HAYDEN 0
Manhattan (9-4-1) 0 3 — 3
Hayden (5-6-1) 0 0 — 0
Manhattan — Goals: Emery Rullifson, Stanley, Booe. Assists: Geisbrecht, Emery Rullifson, Porter. Shutout: Evie Rullifson.
