FC Wichita plays to 1-1 draw against Dutch Lions

The decision to come out of retirement to play for FC Wichita at age 36 wasn’t Chris Lemons trying to rekindle his soccer career.

His passion for the sport has not waned, but the priorities in his life have changed since he became a father to his son Asher seven months ago.

He didn’t come back to prove he can still be an effective centerback, which he has this season and continued to do so in FC Wichita’s 1-1 draw with the Dutch Lions at the Stryker Soccer Complex on Sunday night.

He came back for moments like halftime of Sunday’s game when Lemons was joined on the field by his father, Steven, and his son, Asher, on Father’s Day. While his son is too young to remember this moment, Chris says the picture is worth more than anything to him.

“To have that moment with my dad and my son, that’s it,” Lemons said after the game. “That’s going to last a lifetime for me, my dad, and my son.”

FC Wichita appeared to steal another three points with a late goal created by a spectacular individual effort from Leo Sosa, who followed the ball from sideline-to-sideline, dispossessed the handler, and hung on to play a ball across the face of the goal for Luca Anelli to slot away in the 86th minute for the game’s first goal.

But the miscommunication on a throw-in allowed the Dutch Lions entry to the middle of the six-yard box and the equalizer by Carlos Acevedo in the first minute of stoppage time. The draw keeps FC Wichita (6-1-1) in front of the Dutch Lions (6-2-1) for second place.

“The only good thing about making a mistake like that is that we don’t end the game in a loss,” FC Wichita manager Johnny Markey said. “We still come away with a point and it’s something we can learn from.”

Before Lemons was subbed off in the 80th minute, he was arguably the most important player for FC Wichita. He extinguished a handful of threats, the most dangerous came when the left side of FC Wichita’s defense sprung a leak that allowed Dener Dos Santos a 1-on-1 with the keeper until Lemons came streaking over to slide and jar the ball loose.

He regularly has moments of brilliance like that from his 10-year professional career he retired from in 2012. And now that his family is able to attend every home game, Chris cherishes the opportunity.

“It’s special to have his family come out and I know it means a lot to him to have his son out here,” Steven Lemons, his father, said. “They’re going to have a lot of pictures and his son might not remember it, but I’m sure he’ll treasure them one day.”

He knows his favorite already will be the one on Sunday when three generations of Lemons boys are together: Chris and Steve embracing for a hug with Asher sitting on his father’s shoulders.

Not a bad experience for his first Father’s Day.

“Even though the memory might not be specifically there for him, there is going to be pictures and videos of me after the game holding him in my soaking wet jersey and he’s going to be able to say, ‘That’s my dad,’” Chris said. “Words cannot describe how much that means to me.”

This story was originally published June 19, 2016 at 8:22 PM with the headline "FC Wichita plays to 1-1 draw against Dutch Lions."