FSHS rolls over ‘Cats

It’s a safe bet that the Free State High boys soccer team knows it’s not going to get any easier.

The Firebirds kicked off their 2002 season Tuesday by rolling over Kansas City Washington 11-0 at Free State. The game was called at halftime because of the 10-goal mercy rule.

Free State's Bryan Spangler skies over a Kansas City Washington defender. The Firebirds hammered the Wildcats, 11-0, on Tuesday at FSHS.

“A win’s a win,” coach Jason Pendleton said. “Even though the score was what it was, we didn’t do some things very well. We’ve got a few things to work on right away.”

The overmatched Wildcats showed obvious inexperience, frequently yielding golden scoring opportunities and twice suffering intentional handball penalties in the box. Two girls started for Washington, a struggling program still trying to get on its feet.

“Obviously, we’d like a little tougher test,” Pendleton said, “but we just play who’s there in front of us at the time. We try to work on what we’ve been doing in practice and go from there.”

Free State senior Kayvon Sarraf scored the first of his two goals just 1:37 in, and the Firebird attack was relentless throughout.

Junior Joel Angelone completed a hat trick just 15 minutes into the game, while senior Bryan Spangler and freshman Aaron Ideus added two goals apiece to help the Firebirds cruise.

“It’s a good feeling,” said Angelone, who scored 10 goals last year. “It’s always good to start strong.”

Free State blasted 32 shots in 40 minutes of play, while the hapless Wildcats went without a shot the entire match, making goalkeeper Justin Howell’s job a little boring.

“We get the win, and we move on,” Pendleton said. “It’s good to no longer be practicing and have the opporunity to come out and compete.”

The Firebirds (1-0) will be seeing more of a challenge on Thursday, when they travel to Topeka Hayden. Pendleton says he’s not expecting the Firebirds to come out lifeless on Thursday after pounding an overmatched Washington squad Tuesday.

“Not at all,” he said. “We’re ready to play.”