Jay Daubenberger
Liberal, Kansas – Seward County and Cowley battled for the first time in early September where both sides walked away with unfinished business in a 1-1 tie. On October 5th the two teams competed once again on the Saints’ home turf where the two teams competed in an instant thriller with both teams connecting on two goals each with the contest coming down to the final seconds before ending in a 2-2 draw.
The first half was a defensive showcase for both sides as the two Jayhawk foes competed shoulder to shoulder with one another for possession of the ball with the back line of Alexander Stevens-Lee, Francisco Nava Gomez, and Gustavo Chavez all holding off the Tigers by sending it deep down field. Bruno Mestres added on to the strong defensive presence for Seward County as he protected the goal from the few shots that Cowley was able to get off with a pair of crucial saves to keep the scoreboard blank entering the halftime break.
The Saints struck gold first in the game seven minutes into the second half as a foul outside of the box led to a free kick by Matheus Ambrozio who sailed in a perfect pinpoint shot in the top of the cross bar for Seward County’s first goal and a 1-0 lead. It took some time, but the Tigers eventually evened up the score at 1-1 with under 18:00 minutes left on the clock with the two teams now back to a leveled playing field as both sides competed back and forth to try and add to their totals. Reigning KJCCC Player of the Week Fernando Moura Filho helped lead his team back in front of their top five opponent as the freshman midfielder took control of the ball at the fifty-yard line and took it all by himself to go one on one with the opposing goalkeeper who he launched a rocket of a shot past to make it a 2-1 game with under 10:00 to go.
SCCC continued to put pressure on Cowley with time winding down and Saints’ fans on their feet with the Tigers finding a path down field with a split-second opening where they took a shot to tie the game that landed in the right side of the goal to even the score back up at 2-2. In the final 3:00 minutes before the final horn it was all Seward County as they charged down field with multiple attempts to score as Chad Haynes sent in a shot that ended up a little wide along with Javier Ruchelli coming within inches of getting past the goalkeeper. With a corner kick awarded to the Saints with five seconds left, Seward County sailed in a high-flying pass to Nava Gomez who rose up for a header at the pin but barely missed out on a final goal as the horn sounded and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
The Saints now sit at 5-4-4 on the 2024 season with a 1-3-4 record in Jayhawk action. They will return to action on Wednesday October 5th when they take on Garden City at home on Redskin Field in an 8:00 PM matchup.