Wichita Wings end successful MASL 2 season in indoor soccer championship game
The Wings are synonymous with indoor soccer in Wichita.
But the one thing that has escaped the franchise throughout its off-and-on-again existence over the last four decades is a championship.
The Wings came about as close as they ever have last weekend: an 11-6 loss to the Cleveland Crunch at Hartman Arena in Sunday’s Major Arena Soccer League 2 title match. The loss concluded a 9-4 season for Wichita, while Cleveland (9-3) claimed its fourth indoor title.
It was a promising start for the Wings on Sunday — they scored the game’s first goal. But Cleveland rallied with four straight to open a 4-1 lead and never allowed the Wings to cut the deficit closer than three the rest of the game.
Wichita native Kevin Ten Eyck led the way for the Wings with a team-high two goals. Franck Tayou, David Lucio and Jared Robbins all scored, too.
“This is the kind of weekend that lays a great foundation for the future of the sport, not only with these two tremendous franchises, but for M2 overall,” said Andrew Ross, the league’s commissioner. “By next season, we will more than double the number of teams in the league, which will raise the level of competition to new heights and expose the sport to fans in prior indoor soccer markets and new ones, as well.”
Wichita finished first in the seven-team league’s regular season, earning the MASL 2’s No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs.
Led this season by the play-making of Tayou, Benji Monreal, Lucio and James Togbah, the Wings advanced to the title game with a dominant 7-1 victory on Saturday over the Chicago Mustangs. The Wings led 5-0 midway through the second period; Robbins recorded a brace and an assist, while Ten Eyck and Monreal each added a goal and assist.
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Wichita Wings end successful MASL 2 season in indoor soccer championship game."
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