DRAGONS SNAP REGION VI SKID WITH SOGGY WIN OVER RAVENS

Sophomore Chenyenne Busker and the Blue Dragon back line were stellar in a 3-1 Region VI Tournament quarterfinal victory by No. 20-ranked Hutchinson over Coffeyville on Tuesday in Coffeyville.

May 18, 2021

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

COFFEYVILLE – The Hutchinson Community College women's soccer team returned to the NJCAA Top 20 for the first time for the first time in four years on Monday.

The Blue Dragons on Tuesday snapped a three-match Region VI Tournament losing streak.

Sophomore Esther Karhayu scored a pair of goals to lead the No. 20-ranked Blue Dragons to a 3-1 victory over Coffeyville in the quarterfinals of the Region VI Women's Soccer Tournament at Veterans' Memorial Stadium.

The Blue Dragons (7-3-3) advance to the Region VI semifinals against the Cowley/Butler winner on Saturday at the Stryker Soccer Complex in Wichita. The Cowley-Butler quarterfinal match is Wednesday in Arkansas City. This will be Hutchinson's first Region VI semifinal appearance since 2016.

Just minutes into the match, the Blue Dragons and Red Ravens were playing in heavy rain.

Within the midst of the downpour, Sophomore Samantha Vaughn worked a pass down the left sideline to Karhayu, who received the pass and sprinted toward the goal. She rifled a shot past the Coffeyville keeper for a 1-0 lead with 33:04 to play in the first half.

Led by the back line of sophomore Cheyenne Busker and Zara Lawless, the Blue Dragons held Coffeyville to only one shot attempted in the first half and limited Coffeyville's leading scorer, Louise Atkinson, to only three shot attempts for the match.

Hutchinson led 1-0 at halftime.

The Blue Dragons took control of the match with two goals in a 1-minute, 34-second span early in the second half.

Karhayu scored her second goal of the match when she powered home a rebound of her own saved shot and gave Hutchinson a 2-0 lead with 41:25 to play in the second half on an unassisted goal.

Just 1:34 later, sophomore Marah Franke delivered a corner kick that Chiara Stuenkel headed into the goal for a 3-0 lead with 39:51 to play. That was Franke's nine career assist from a cornerkick.

Coffeyville was able to break the shutout with 12:49 to play when Rachael Manley scored unassisted after a bad Blue Dragon goal kick.

After than that, the Blue Dragon defense was stellar, allowing only three shots to get to freshman goalkeeper Kambrian Colborn, who had two saves.

Coffeyville out-shot Hutchinson 16-10, 15 shots by the Red Ravens were in the second half.

Karhayu scored a goal in her fourth-straight match. She has back-to-back matches with two goals and this is her third multi-goal game this season and fourth of her career.

Karhayu is the 15th Blue Dragon in Hutchinson postseason history with a multi-goal match.

The Blue Dragons are now 22-12 all-time in the postseason, including 13-3 in the Region VI quarterfinals. Hutchinson is 3-1 all-time in the Region VI Tournament against Coffeyville, all three wins have come at Veterans' Memorial Stadium.