“Our defense was a little shaky, but we pulled together and brought the shutout,” junior Salim Gumati, center midfielder and striker, said. “Our offense production could’ve been much better but we still put away four goals. Overall, a very solid game.”
Gumati himself assisted two goals tonight – one scored by senior striker and wing midfielder Ryan Stanowski and the other by senior center midfielder Eli Sherman.
He said the team knew the match wouldn’t be easy, so Gumati and his teammates had to really step up their game. The shutout may have been “ugly” for Smith-Cotton, but he and the team “did what they had to do.”
“I noticed that this game was different first in the intensity,” Gumati said. “Smith-Cotton wasn’t just going to roll over and let us have an easy win. We were going to have to pick our game up and do some work. I felt like as the game went on, I picked up the intensity and brought it to the level of the other players and it helped us win.”
The boys soccer team will head back up to Blue Springs-South for the district championship game on Wednesday against the winner of the Blue Springs-South and Hickman game played tonight. The state championships will be held in Blue Springs-South as well. Gumati said the team needs to keep up their drive they’ve brought to games so far if they want to continue their success, and knows the team is capable of winning a state championship; they just have to execute to their potential.
“I guess you could call our ‘motto’ this year … intensity, ” Gumati said. “We have to keep our intensity up for all practices. And that will translate to games where it will be much needed. But we know we have to slow down and respect every game, because there is nothing easy from here on out.”
By Maddie Magruder
