MHS boys' soccer stomps Wichita South in home opener

“I’m happy to get a win,” said head coach Mike Sanchez. “We had a tough stretch, a tough weekend, so I’m happy to get a win.”

Manhattan dominated the game throughout, outshooting the Titans (0-4) 47-6, including a 25-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Indians’ supremacy was particularly acute in the first half, wherein they scored all of their goals, attempted 33 of their shots and held Wichita South to just one attempt.

Starting goalkeeper Vincent Malone split the clean sheet with Jason Wilhite, who came on in relief at halftime. It was Manhattan’s second shutout of the season.

The scoring started fewer than four minutes into the contest, when Comiso took a pass from Kyle Klym, went around goalkeeper Christian Valdez and tapped it into the net. A bit more than 10 minutes later, Ibrahim Alali made it 2-0 with a goal off an assist from Carter Booe.

Carter Oehme found the back of the net after racing down the middle of the field with 23:26 left in the first half. Comiso scored his second goal when he tapped in a ball Klym kicked off Valdez’s foot, giving Manhattan a 4-0 advantage with 20:52 to go in the first half.

The third time was the charm for Holden Arthaud-Day as he finally put the ball in after knocking it off the crossbar and then the post in consecutive kicks. Oehme pushed the lead to 6-0 with his second goal after Comiso flicked it back to him from near the goal line.

Burke Belanger rocked a free kick off the post, which allowed Drake Karr to poke in the deflection, and Comiso wrapped up the scoring with his third goal at the 4:56 mark of the first half.

“We did a good job of actually staying stretched, which was good,” Sanchez said. “ … It’s something we’ve been harping on. It opens up the game a lot more if we (are) a little more patient in the buildup.”

Opening the second half with an 8-0 cushion, Sanchez changed up his lineup a bit, bringing in younger players and letting Malone see time on the field instead of in goal. He said it was nice to get Malone in a different spot, as that may not be possible throughout the season with tough teams on the schedule.

The Indians failed to score in the second half and saw their number of shots decrease from the first. Sanchez gave credit to the Titans for returning after halftime determined to keep the score as it was and also said his team was “a little bit too overeager” in its attacks in the second period.

“It’s good to have a sense of urgency, but just be patient,” he said.

Sanchez said he’d wanted to get two more goals in the second half to reach the 10-0 deficit needed to end the game via mercy rule, as Manhattan has a quick turnaround ahead of it. The Indians traveled to play Blue Valley West Wednesday evening. Results of that game were not available by press time.

“I was hoping to get a little more rest, but it’s all right,” he said. “... Blue Valley West is a tough opponent.”