Wings end losing streak with sudden-death overtime goal by Alex Moseley

The Wichita Wings ended their two-game losing streak with an overtime victory over the Colorado Inferno.

The Wings won 6-5 on Saturday night at Hartman Arena when defender Alex Moseley scored in sudden death. The Wings took a free kick from the corner that bounced off of the post and in front of Moseley. He nailed the shot into the upper corner.

“It was awesome, but it was so much more than that,” Moseley said. “The second half we played so much harder…it was a team effort. I got the glory at the end, but it was everybody else as well.”

The Wings led 1-0 after the first quarter but fell behind 4-2 in the second. They scored in the final seconds, cutting the deficit to one goal going into the half.

Wings coach Roger Downing said the team reflected on its last two losses at halftime and didn’t want to extend the losing streak to three. He said that their mindset shift changed the game.

“Sometimes we need a bit of a push to realize how we got where were at and I think they realized that at halftime,” Downing said. “Then they stepped it up in the second half…I was proud of them.”

The Wings scored twice early in the third quarter, taking a 5-4 lead. The Inferno tied the score with nine minutes left in the third and neither team scored for the rest of regulation.

In the final minute of regulation, Colorado was relentlessly trying to get as many shots on goal as possible, but goalkeeper Steven Hamersky managed to save each of the shot attempts.

Hamersky, who also works for the Newton Police Department, said that his job in law enforcement prepared him to keep his composure for high intensity moments on the soccer field.

“At work, that’s stress. This is soccer, if I get scored on, I get scored on,” Hamersky said. “I don’t worry about it too much, that’s how I stay focused.”

Moseley, who scored the game-winning goal, also said that not taking the situation too seriously is what allows the team to play level-headed.

“Part of it is just having fun and not being so worried,” Moseley said. “We’re not worried about the result; we’re just enjoying it and doing what we do and let the chips fall where they may and let our hard work speak for itself.”

The Wings also took that mentality when it came to their two-game losing streak. Losing back-to-back at home may have been viewed as a setback, but Moseley said that he encouraged his team to leave their mistakes of the last two games in the past.

“If you want to play at this level, you have to forget mistakes,” Moseley said. “I tell them ‘Forget what’s going on and just whatever is happening right then, you handle it. You got the crowd behind you and just trust your instincts and your skill that you’ve been working on.’”

The Wings (6-2) remained in second place in their conference, trailing the 9-0 Chihuahua Savage. Colorado (5-5) is behind the Wings in third.

Wichita looks to pick up its seventh win next week as the Wings face the Kansas City Comets at 5 p.m. Feb. 9 in Hartman Arena.