Mid-Prairie soccer falls to Danville at home

Missed opportunities led to a tough night for the Mid-Prairie boys? soccer team on Monday.

The Golden Hawks faced one-loss, No. 11 ranked Danville at home, but couldn?t use the home-field advantage to their liking, dropping the match 3-1.

?I hate Monday games,? Mid-Prairie head coach Pat Cady said. ?Danville played like they wanted it more than we did. We have to be able to make the adjustments on the fly, and Danville was a good team. When they got the ball to the final third, they did smart things with it.?

Danville capitalized on a pair of early opportunities to take a 2-0 lead in the first 25 minutes of the game, and the Hawks couldn?t find an answer.

Mid-Prairie?s best opportunity came late in the first half, when a Danville player was saddled with a yellow card, and on the ensuing free kick, Danville was whistled for a hand ball in their own zone.

Mid-Prairie was unable to make that chance count, and went into the break down 2-0.

The Hawks saw the deficit grow larger in the second half, as Danville picked up a goal in the 58th minute, and could have had a 4-0 lead if not for an offside call.

Mid-Prairie got on the board with 16 minutes to play, as a misplayed ball by the Bears? keeper led to an open net for Ricky Vargas.

The Hawks couldn?t find the net again, as they fell to the Bears.

Cady noted that his team, which stands at 2-7, will soon be back to full strength, with everyone getting back into a rhythm, making them a possibly dangerous team in the postseason.

?On Friday, everyone is good to go,? Cady said. ?We might take a couple of games to get everyone in and get them used to where they haven?t been for four weeks. It?s not too late, because Gilbert went to state last year without a winning record and they took second. I think we have a good team, and everyone we play is ranked. People could overlook us, and that might work to our advantage.?

Mid-Prairie will face Cedar Valley Christian on Thursday night on the road.