Panthers bounce back after opening night loss in 9-4 win over Chariton

The Creston Panthers boys soccer team netted its first win of the season with a final score of 9-4 Tuesday over Chariton at home, but it was not without a fight against Mother Nature as well.

“We battled the wind pretty hard in the first half, so I knew I needed to calm them down,” said head coach Chad Malmanger, as he discussed a strategy for the second half. “I didn’t want to get caught in the trap of just sending the ball as long as we could and not using the wind to our advantage and I think the boys did a fairly good job of controlling that in the second half.”

Despite coming off a 5-2 loss during their season opener Monday against St. Albert and a late, long bus ride home, Malmanger was impressed by his players’ resilience and readiness to get back on the field against the visiting Chargers. As the team rallied prior to the game, Malmanger said his goal for the team heading into today’s game was to get back in the scoring column.

“I think that’s what we focused on this afternoon, trying to find the back of the net a few more times, get some of our legs underneath of us,” he said. “I was really happy with how we did that.”

Leading the Panthers in scoring were Aidan Anderson and Briley Hayes with three goals each.

As he looks forward to the rest of the season, Malmanger said, all around, there’s much work to be done.

“Even though we put nine goals in the back of the net, I think we still need to work on some of our finishing, ... some of our defense and some good time with the goalie,” said Malmanger.

Up next, the Panthers play against Nodaway Valley/WCV 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Greenfield.