Moreno’s Monster Night Lifts Liberal

Great players can take their game to the next level when the games matter most. That’s what senior Eduardo Moreno did Tuesday night at Redskin Field in the opener of the 5A playoffs against Ark City. Moreno scored seven goals in a 10-0 Liberal mercy rule win.

Moreno scored five times into the north net in the first half helping LHS put the game away early and lead 7-0 at halftime. Jason Rios scored first at the 38:36 mark as fans were still settling into their seats. Eduardo scored at the 32:58 mark, the 22:54 mark, the 14:32 mark, the 9:54 mark, and the 9:28 mark before head coach Lori Navarro gave Moreno a break on the bench. Isai Gutierrez assisted one of the goals and scored a goal of his own 3;48 before halftime.

Liberal was less aggressive offensively in the second half while resting many starters. Moreno sat most of the second half but wasted little time finding the back of the south net when he came back into the game. Moreno scored at the 17:04 and 13:23 marks before Jose Covarrubias ended the game on the mercy rule with 9:12 remaining.

Ark City finishes 6-11 while the Redskins win their 10th straight game and are 12-5. Liberal hosts Wichita West Thursday night at 6 p.m. West shocked Andover Central 3-2 in Andover. It’s been a tournament of upsets already with Hays defeating Winfield 2-1 on Monday. In other WAC action, Garden City beat Wichita Southeast 1-0 and Dodge City downed Hutchinson 4-0.