Derby soccer had goals from seven different players in a 7-1 win over Hutchinson on Sept. 21. The Panthers rebounded from a 2-0 loss to Andover on Sept. 17 with an offensive flurry that started with four goals in the first half.
“A good bounce-back win,” head coach Paul Burke said. “We tried to build their confidence back up, understanding that maybe last week we were just going through the motions in the loss to Andover, not really focused on some things, and we played much better against Hutchinson. We just needed that confidence boost again.”
Braiden Harris opened the scoring just under nine minutes into the match, being in the right place at the right time to put away a deflected save. The Panthers maintained control of the game with the early lead. Prince Cueto made it 2-0 with a long-range shot with 17:57 left in the half. William Torline found the back of the net to make it 3-0 with 10:28 remaining in the opening 40 minutes, before Ian Campbell headed in a goal off a free kick to make it a 4-0 at halftime.
Derby kept the momentum going, with Brodie Knight opening the second half with a goal to extend the lead to 5-0 with 32 minutes left in the match. Jackson Kendrick scored four minutes later to make it 6-0. The Salthawks got on the board with a goal with 25 minutes left, but the Panthers added another from Brayden Metcalfe to wrap up the game at 7-1.
The Panthers will have a short turnaround in a three-match week, facing Goddard on the road on Sept. 22 and hosting Rose Hill on Sept. 24.
“This is a big week,” Burke said. “We really talked about how this stretch could be a defining part of the season, and we just have to take it one game at a time.”
Cody Friesen is the sports editor for the Derby Informer. Contact him with sports tips at sports@derbyinformer.com, and follow @Derby_Sports on Twitter for the latest updates.