Too little too late; Buffs soccer falls short in comeback bid

Wichita, Kan (westernkansasnews.com)-Joaquin Padilla stressed all season that his team needed to get off to quick starts. Unfortunately, his team’s sluggish moments on Tuesday were their downfall. 

Wichita East built a 3-0 lead early and held off a valiant effort from Garden City in a 3-2 victory in the 6A boys’ soccer quarterfinals. 

“I’m so proud of this 2015 class,” junior midfielder Gilberto Tovar said afterwards. “We started slowly, but we made our way back into the match.”

That they did, but the hole was too great. Daniel Guardado’s goal off a rebound in the third minute gave the Blue Aces a lead they would never relinquish. Bryan Martinez-Salinas and Evan Keomany added goals in the first eight minutes of the second half to give Wichita East a three-goal cushion. 

Garden City (14-5) made things interesting when freshman Alex Morales scored an unassisted goal in the 62nd minute followed by Erik Barragan’s score in the 67th. But East shut the door after that.