BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

Great Bend's Xali Arias scored three goals for a 'hat trick' to spark an 8-0 soccer victory over Salina Central Tuesday at Cavanaugh Field.

Arias used her quickness to convert the Panthers' third goal (19:10) and finished the 8-0 victory with second-half goals (46:11, 49:12) to end the match.

"My goal is to score a goal every game, and scoring three goals is awesome," Arias said. "It's been fun. We've worked hard connecting better on the field. "I love what our midfield is doing. We've worked on getting touches to the wings. Playing side-to-side has worked better than hitting 'long balls.'

The Panthers used quick, short passes to advance the ball consistently. They moved the ball from side-to-side to set up their offense.

Panthers Teegan Guerra (12:37), Natalia Rodriguez (14:36), Brissa Leyva (23:38), Araceli Aguilera (36:36), Hallie Rodriguez (46:12) tallied goals.

Leyva's goal occurred on a perfect corner kick that bounced into the goal.

"It's fun to watch. We're putting our pieces together in our puzzle," said Great Bend coach Noel Rodriguez. "The girls are working together. Our goal is to regain the ball once we lose possession. The girls are enjoying their hard work that is being rewarded."

Great Bend (5-3, 2-1 WAC) will play Liberal (3-2-1, 0-1-1 WAC) at home Thursday after upsetting the Redskins 2-1 on the road.

"Competing and winning against the WAC teams shows our hard work is showing," Arias said. "We've won a couple of road games."

WAC GIRLS SOCCER

Garden City 1-0 2-2-2

Great Bend 2-1 5-3

Hays High 1-1-1 2-4-1

Liberal 0-1-1 3-2-1

Dodge City 0-1 1-6

4-14—Great Bend 8, Salina Central 0; Garden City 2, Maize 2; Kapaun Mt. Carmel 8, Dodge City 0

4-16—Liberal at Great Bend; Garden City at Dodge City; Maize South at Hays