Kokomo Athletics

The Kokomo Wildkats made the trek to conference foe Richmond and lost to the hosts 4-1 Saturday, dropping their second match in conference play. In a chippy match which included three yellow cards, the Kats struck first, but could not add to the lead nor slow down the Red Devil attack. Although Richmond applied pressure early, the Wildkats struck first in the 6th minute when sophomore midfielder Andy McConnell turned and fired from 35 yards out after senior center back Adrian Reyes passed him the ball off of a free kick. The Red Devil keeper struggled to keep the ball out of the net, and the Kats went up 1-0. The Red Devils responded twice before the half as their forward slotted home two goals for a 2-1 halftime lead. In the second half, the Red Devils redoubled their efforts and scored two quick goals in the first five minutes off of Wildkat miscues in possession in the middle third. At 4-1, the game proved to be out of reach as the Wildkats (2-5-1, 0-2-0) struggled to create any clear chances even though defensively they were able to limit the Red Devils scoring options. The Wildkats will have to regroup quickly as they travel to both McCutcheon and Lafayette Jefferson next week. Your man of the match is sophomore midfielder Andy McConnell. In the junior varsity game, the Wildkats (2-3-0, 1-1-0) played an inconsistent match, conceding two goals early before creating several chances to score in the final ten minutes of play. The Kats dropped the match to the Red Devils by a score of 2-0.