Jay Daubenberger
On Wednesday afternoon the Seward County Lady Saints hit the road for the final time in the 2024 regular season as they made their way to Dodge City for a rivalry matchup in Jayhawk conference action where the Lady Saints gave up a late corner kick to the Conqs which resulted in a 2-1 loss for SCCC.
Seward County and Dodge City exchanged possessions through the first ten minutes of the contest as the two KJCCC rivals looked to become the first on the scoreboard. Unfortunately for the Lady Saints it was the Conqs who accomplished that goal as they passed to a player in open space who connected in the left side of the goal for a 1-0 lead at the 11:36 mark. Through the rest of the first half, it was Seward County playing high level defense to hold back Dodge City from making another push as SCCC held their opponents to a 1-0 advantage entering the halftime break.
In the second half the Lady Saints were able to match the Conqs score as they battled down the field shoulder to shoulder with Seward County finding chances to launch multiple shot opportunities. At the 60:00-minute mark Dayra Dinarte earned a free kick opportunity which she sent straight to Jairely Ibarra who swiftly knocked it into the goal to tie up the score at 1-1. Most of the contest from there on was a constant exchange of possessions as the Lady Saints back line in Abigail Artley and Kiara Leiton booted the ball up field to protect the goal while what few shot attempts did make it through were blocked by Ashley Acevedo. With time winding down it looked as though the matchup might end in a draw until a corner kick at the 87:00-minute mark found its way into the goal for Dodge City’s second score to take a 2-1 lead that Seward County was unable to answer as SCCC fell to the Conqs.
The Lady Saints now drop to 2-10-4 overall on the 2024 season with a Jayhawk Conference record of 1-9-3. Seward County will remain at home the rest of the way in the regular season as they begin a three game homestead starting with a top ten opponent in #8 Butler this Friday at 1:00 PM on Redskin Field.