Broncbusters open the 2019 campaign in Colorado

By Mike Pilosof

Garden City, KS-Corey Bryant has navigated the Jayhawk Conference for quite some time. But now he gets his crack at leading his own program.

The Bryant era officially kicks off in La Junta, CO on Thursday as the Broncbusters open against Otero.

"The girls have been a joy to work with over the course of the last three weeks," Bryant said. "The improvement we have made since day one has been amazing."

Bryant's first challenge is trying to turn around a team that finished 3-13-1 into a perennial contender. And it starts with offense.

The Broncbusters managed just 17 goals in 17 games last season. In fact, they were shutout seven times. But that's not the whole story. Garden City lost two matches in overtime in late November to Northwest Tech and Dodge City.

"Over the course of our two preseason scrimmages, we've gotten much better implementing my style of play," Bryant explained. "The challenge will be to keep everyone healthy throughout the season."

Garden City does bring back a wealth of experience in 2019. Goalie Kaylee Keller, defenders Emily Jaco and Evelyn Ramirez; plus forwards Ariana Sanchez and Valeria Gasca return, as do sophomores Crystal Ruvalcaba, Edith Small and Leslie Sanchez. Add in transfers Adrianna Gutierrez (Allen Community College), Allie Zwetzig (Neosho) and Cat Small, and Garden City is loaded with sophomore talent.

"You can see this thing building in practice," Bryant said. I'm so happy to be a part of this program, and I'm excited to see how well we can do."

On the recruiting trail, Bryant plucked several talented players from Garden City High School, a soccer- rich program that's produced plenty of talent over the years. This year, Noeli Munoz joins the roster, as does Leah Basilio, Marisol Ortiz, Jazmin Orozco, who fought back from a broken ankle during her high-school career, and Fatima Vital.

"I believe we have a really good mix of players," Bryant explained.

After their opening match with Otero on Thursday, Garden City travels to play Central on Saturday. Following six days off, the Broncbusters begin the home portion of their schedule on Friday, Aug. 30 vs. Northeastern. A few nights later, they host defending division champ Barton, who ripped of 12 wins in their 14 conference matches a year ago.

"We know the talent level in this conference," Bryant said. "It's not surprising at all."

Another stiff tests awaits Garden City on Sept. 14 when they face off with division runner-up Cloud County in Concordia. That's part of a stretch of three straight road matches (at Hesston on Sept. 18 and at Cisco on Sept. 21). They're back home on Sept. 25 against Dodge City. In October, they have home matches vs. Pratt, Cloud County and Hesston.