By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
Special to Hays Post
A group of Hays youngsters recently let fellow soccer players from around the country know that soccer is alive and well in Kansas – specifically in northwest Kansas.
Local goalkeepers made it all the way to the championship match in four of the five divisions in which they competed at the Keeper Wars Ink regional competition in Wichita.
The 1 vs. 1 event at the Stryker Sports Complex in December featured more than 80 competitors from nine different states.
It was an especially successful weekend for the Fisher family from Hays, which posted a cumulative record of 19-1.
Joey Fisher went undefeated at 10-0 to win the 12 and Under-13 and Under division. His older brother Kenny, a junior at Hays High School, went into the 16U-19U championship match unbeaten in nine matches before falling in the title match to place second.
It was the best finish in four years of Keeper Wars competition for Kenny, whose main position in high school is goalkeeper.
Ironically, younger brother Joey’s No. 1 position on the pitch is striker. However, their dad, Adam, says Joey thrives on competition and has enjoyed watching Kenny succeed at Keeper Wars the past several years, so he decided to give it a try.
Winners of the regional competitions qualify for the U.S. Youth Soccer Keeper Wars Ink National Championships held during the summer in Florida. Regional second-place finishers are put on a list and often are chosen as at-large national qualifiers. So the Fisher family could have two national qualifiers in 2024.
Kenny received just what he wanted for Christmas last week – a new set of goalie gloves. Joey – well, he would like to take a trip to Florida and the national tournament.
“Joey is still working on us on that one,” Adam Fisher said with a laugh.
Another HHS goalkeeper, freshman Cedric Durr, hopes to be making a third appearance at nationals. He finished in the top four of the 12U-13U division at the 2022 national tournament and qualified again last year (in the 14U-15U division).
Cedric placed second in the 14U-15U age division at Wichita. After losing his first match of the weekend, he won eight in a row heading into the championship match, where he dropped a 9-7 decision.
Cedric is hoping to automatically qualify for nationals by finishing first at a regional event in Iowa this weekend. He is heading into today’s playoffs with a 4-0-1 record from Saturday’s action.
The youngest Hays competitor at Wichita, Ryder Feldt, claimed second-place honors after an exciting run on the second day of competition.
After a couple of tough losses in the U9 co-ed group on Saturday, Ryder battled his way back up through his bracket, playing seven matches on Sunday. He advanced all the way to the title match, where he lost by one in overtime.
Also representing Hays on the weekend were Aundrea Luna in the U12-U13 age division and Max Schumacher and Bexlee Staab in the 10U-11U group.