Wings Win Game 2 Against Bombers, Look To Go 3-0 On Season Sunday
WICHITA, Kan. – The Wichita Wings will look for a clean sweep of its games in the Heartland Invitational Sunday following a 6-3 win over the Amarillo Bombers in a Major Area Soccer League 2 game Saturday night at Hartman Arena.
Local product Kieran Laking, a native of England who was a defensive standout at Wichita’s Newman University, recorded a hat trick as the Wings – won their second game in as many days – got their goals in bunches.
Wichita jumped to a 2-0 lead on goals 33 seconds apart in the first quarter from David Lucio and Eduardo Monreal. Later in the first, Miguel Reyes brought the Bombers to within 2-1, but Laking scored two power plays goals 32 seconds apart early in the second period to stretch the host’s lead to 4-1.
Victor Patriani brought Amarillo to within 4-2 five minutes into the third, but Wichita pulled away with Monreal – who also had two assists for a four-point night – and Laking adding their second and third of the night respectively just 54 seconds apart later in that frame. Patriani added a second Amarillo goal in the fourth.
Wings netminder Aaron Parrott, a Wichita native who starred at McPherson College and was signed after a Wings open tryout in 2019, had his second straight strong effort in goal, turning back 16 Amarillo shots, and recording a save percentage of.842. Last season for the Wings, he appeared in six games, winning four, while posting a solid 4.10 goals against average.
The three-games-in-three-days tournament will conclude Sunday (Jan. 24) with a noon start as Amarillo takes on the Colorado Inferno FC in a noon central standard time start, and the Wings host Omaha Kings FC in a 3 p.m. kickoff, both at Hartman Arena.
Both games are available on the M2 Facebook pay-per-view platform, which can be accessed HERE. One hundred percent of the proceeds generated by pay-per-view sales will go back to the teams to help defray costs associated with the invitational
All six games of this weekend’s Heartland Invitational will be counted in M2’s regular season standings. Those standings will be based on a team’s winning percentage, a model similar to what the Major Arena Soccer League and other sports leagues are using in the short term since not all teams will be able to play the same number of games. Schedules will be announced on a month-to-month basis as pandemic conditions change and improve in individual markets.
Additional teams are expected to come online in the coming weeks and months, with teams having until April 1st to opt-in for the 2021 season. Teams will have to complete regular season play by early July. The official playoff structure will be announced after the April 1st cutoff date, however fans can expect the top 3-4 teams to compete, as the league office works through multiple scenarios to crown a champion for 2021.