Ark Valley News - Valley advances in tournament

Colby Swift dives to make a save against McPherson Sept. 4. The Hornets won on penalty kicks and will play Andover Sept. 6.

Valley advances in tournament
By Taylor Messick
Last Updated: September 06, 2018

The Valley Center High School soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the Maize South tournament with a win over McPherson Sept. 4. The Hornets will play Andover Sept. 6 with a chance to make it to the Sept. 8 championships game.

Coach Steen Danielsen noted that McPherson is always a tough matchup for the Hornets and they have lost to the Bullpups on last-minute plays in years past. This time, Valley Center won 2-1 with penalty kicks.

Danielsen named senior keeper Colby Swift the MVP for the game and said he and the defense were solid again. He said Swift's experience and talent give the team an advantage in games that are decided on penalty kicks. He saved two McPherson penalty kick attempts.

The Hornets got their goal in the first half on a jumbled play. Jeffery Ju dribbled toward the post and took a shot from distance. The McPherson keeper then fumbled the ball and left the door open for the Hornets' foreign exchange student, Christian Silegmann, to crash the net for an easy cleanup. McPherson later got a goal in the second half to shift the momentum. It came on a free kick.

"I told them at halftime to be careful because McPherson has a history of running good sets and producing on them," said Danielsen. "They crushed one to the back bar, upper 90. Colby almost got a save and got his fingertips on it, but it couldn't have been more perfect. That was from the 20 on the opposite side, so it was a great strike and a hard goal to save."

McPherson then began attacking the Hornets. The Bullpups controlled possession during the middle of the second half and got off a couple of scary shot opportunities late. However, Danielsen was happy with the way the team persevered. Valley Center finished strong before entering penalty kicks, where they outscored the Bullpups 4-3.

The Hornets played against a tough Salina Central squad on Aug. 30 and lost 2-0. Danielsen praised his defense. He said the Mustangs might be one of the best teams the Hornets will play this season.

"Against Salina Central we showed how much grit and heart we have and how good our defense is," said Danielsen. "They are an extremely talented squad. They were big, fast and good; scary. Colby did an outstanding job to hold them scoreless until the last 20 minutes of the game."

Salina Central scored in the second half on a play Danielsen called "a silly mistake" from Swift. He didn't discount the blunder from the outstanding performance Swift had.

"I told him after the game that with as many scoring opportunities as they got, they earned a goal," said Danielsen. "They were just rocking the post and he was coming up with crazy saves. He let one go in but the reality is they earned a goal."

Salina Central's second goal came with just three minutes left in the game on a penalty kick. The penalty against the Hornets was for a retaliatory foul. Danielsen said he believes the team is learning the importance of keeping composure in game situations.

He named Austin Wolff the Hornets' MVP of the game for his toughness and resilience in the middle.