Drury Panthers – 3
Newman Jets – 0
The Panther’s showed off their high-powered offense this evening in their home opener against Newman (Wichita, KS), winning courtesy of Micah Whorton’s hat trick. While the Jets were able to defeat the Panthers 3-2 at home last year, this years Panther’s squad appears to have a chip on it’s shoulder that should help them avoid those upsets this year.
There are still some kinks to work out, as evidenced by two near goals early in the 2nd half when some lackadaisical defending nearly led to goals for the Jet’s, including one that rang off the upright as keeper Stephen Conner got a touch on the shot. Newly promoted Head Coach Ryan Swan showed a lot of confidence in his squad however as he rotated out his starters and nearly cleared the bench this evening. The speed and technical skills shown by the newcomers point to a high level of competitiveness within the team, certainly contributing to attitude shown on the field tonight.
I’ll have pictures on Tuesday, looks like I misplaced my card reader during the move and tomorrow is fully booked. Details from the game ca. Be found on www.Drurypanthers.com. The Panthers, return to action on Friday, when they play host to Harding in a 7:30 p.m. non-conference match at the Cooper Soccer Complex Field One.
