By Ken Hansard
Prior to 2011, the Wichita Southeast High boys’ soccer club was viewed as a team to reckon with each time their opponent met them on the pitch. From 1980 to 2010, the Golden Buffaloes captured eight City League Titles. Now, after a 14 year hiatus, fifth year head Coach Cody Fitch has the Buffs in a position to possibly restore some of the luster to their trophy case.
Fitch, who is coaching his alma mater, after playing for Southeast in their glory years, says, “I am just trying to get the program consistently back to the level it was at when I was a player here from 2003-2006. Our expectations are to compete for a City League Title and a Regional Championship, and to improve on our win total from last season.”
With 12 wins to this point in the season, Fitch and his team have already checked one of those boxes and are now within striking distance of attaining that City Championship. For Fitch, making good on those goals meant first trying to replace eight seniors, including the top scorer in the City League in Molelwa Abandelwa, from last year’s club that finished the season 11-7 overall, eventually succumbing to Dodge City in the Regional Championship.
In order to fill those vacancies, Fitch has called on another strong nucleus of upperclassmen. “Our leader and captain is senior Midfielder Diego Macias, who is a four-year starter and who controls the flow of the game. Our top scorer is senior Jacob Lacio, who has 15 goals through 13 games and was the ESPN Male Athlete of the week earlier this season. Maybe our most dynamic player is senior Jayden Phrakonkham, who is the fastest player I have ever coached. Our defense is led by senior Center Back Armando Dominguez. Our Goalkeeper is junior David Mlendja, who made Second Team All-City last year.”
The Golden Buffs have started the season with 12 wins, 0 losses, and 1 tie. Possibly the biggest coming out party for this year’s squad came in their final match of the Maize South Tournament, where they defeated the two-time defending state champion Maize South Mavericks for the championship. Fitch understands the magnitude of that victory, but he also realizes that if he and his players are to reach their goals, there are even bigger games on the horizon, “Our next big game is against North, where we will be competing for a City League Title. We need to keep working together as a team to improve each week. A City League Title and Regional Championship would definitely make for a successful season.”
