Wichita North and Northwest face off for USD 259’s first game of the fall season

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The first night of USD 259 fall sports with Northwest boy’s soccer traveling to Wichita North to kick off the city league only competition this season.

Players said they needed this competition after being shut down for months.

Northwest senior, Enrique Morales said, “I think we needed it, we were inside a long time, it’s nice to be out here again. Not the result we wanted but now we’re back to the board. Got some work to do.”

Just like in any other game, in Thursday night’s soccer game between Wichita North and Northwest there was your usual winner and loser.

Northwest senior Andrew Fisher said, “This year has been so weird, we have no fans here which is pretty weird but at least we get to play. So we’re really excited about that.”

But after the final whistle, both teams shared the same gratitude for being back on the field.

Wichita North senior Zahid Hernandez said, “We worked so hard to try to get the season back, I know a lot of us showed up to the protests and we did everything we could to follow protocols before in the summer and right now that’s why we’re playing. So it feels great.”

Northwest senior Carson Arndt said, “It’s been a long summer and then we had that break. So we had to get our feet back under us. We’re proving that we can play and be safe and wear masks everywhere. It is worth it.”

Wichita North senior Gabriel Grifaldo said, “It feels amazing to actually know that we know we get to actually have our games and it gives us an opportunity to actually show our talent.”

Players say fall activities are more important than bragging rights and competition. They serve as an escape from the pressures many students face daily.

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