Kearny soccer plays against Grand Island

Carney has held the Cup since its inception, with its first season being in 2019. The Bearcats were 5-0 in their last five games against the Islanders, which ended Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium.

“This year was the right time,” GISH senior Moises Trochez said. “It’s time for the trophy to be here in Grand Island and to remain here for many more years.”

Grand Island defeated Kearney 3-0 to regain the cup. Trochez scored his first hat trick of the season.

Trochez scored two goals in the first half and scored his third, the best goal of the night, in the 65th minute. Trochez reached a position just outside the box on the right and curled the ball with his left foot into the side netting at the far post.

“I think that’s my role,” Trochess said. “It felt great. When I cut in and hit it, I could already feel it going in.”

Early in the game, Carney held the majority of possession inside the high school defensive third. Carney took a shot, but the GISH defense deflected it and goalkeeper Ashtyn Roberts made the save.

“We were really worried in the first half,” GISH coach James Panovich said. “Normally in a Carney vs. GI game, I would say we have more possession than we have in years, so that was actually really concerning to me.”

The Bearcats' first chance came in the 8th minute when they found themselves one-on-one with Roberts. Roberts made a save to keep the game scoreless.

Roberts made a total of four scoreless saves, giving GISH their third clean sheet of the season.

“It's unbelievable, because one of our objectives is to concede one goal or less to our opponents. I think all of our objectives were effective at half-time,” Panovic said. said. “We're going to heckle and shout about Moises and his hat-trick, but just as important is getting a clean sheet.”

GISH made a strong comeback in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

With the first chance of the match, Troches gained space in front of the Kearney goalkeeper and slotted the ball into the back of the net in the 32nd minute.

The Islanders continued their momentum, scoring their second goal of the game off a corner kick in the 35th minute.

“I think our goal, the first goal, was our first big chance,” Panovic said.

Kearney outscored GISH 7-4 at halftime. In the second half, GISH outscored Kearney 14-3.

“Confidence, I really believe in that,” Panovic said of the change at halftime.

The Islanders took control in the second half, possessing the ball and making no simple mistakes. They played like a cohesive unit that knew what was at stake.

With this victory, GISH now has a record of 5 wins and 4 losses, so far it has been a season full of ups and downs.

“I think that's to be determined,” Panovic said of what the win means for the rest of the season. “We've had a lot of ups and downs this past year, so I think this will allow us to take a leap forward and start playing better, healthier football. But by the same token, if we take a step back? I don’t know…but I hope we haven’t peaked.”

GISH's next game will be at Lincoln-Pius X, kicking off at Memorial Stadium on Thursday at 7 p.m.