FC Wichita in final chase for week off from playoff soccer

Entering the final weekend of the soccer season, FC Wichita remains in contention for the second seed and a first-round bye in the NPSL South Central Conference tournament. But it doesn’t control its fate.

While Tulsa Athletics is locked into the top seed, Dutch Lions FC (8-2-1) holds a slight advantage over FC Wichita (7-1-2) for the second spot.

Even if FC Wichita sweeps Joplin in its final two games, the results wouldn’t matter unless Dutch Lions FC draws or loses to the Shreveport Rafters on Saturday.

FC Wichita will play host to the Joplin Demize, the second-to-last team in the conference, at the Stryker Soccer Complex on Friday, then travels to Joplin for the finale on Sunday. The club can secure no worse than the third seed with a win or draw in either game.

“We want that second seed bad,” FC Wichita director of operations Larry Inlow said. “We need to be that second seed because we don’t want that extra game of wear and tear on our players’ bodies as we hopefully progress deeper into the playoffs, so I think it’s completely worth it to chase it.”

The appeal of a first-round bye is obvious, but manager Johnny Markey says it might not matter unless FC Wichita addresses the issues exposed by Tulsa in its only losses this season — a 4-2 defeat in Wichita on June 10 and a 2-0 loss in Tulsa last Saturday.

“I’m still committed to the idea that we are our biggest weakness and our biggest strength,” Markey said. “We will beat ourselves before anybody else beats us. Tulsa is a very good team and very clinical about punishing mistakes. It just points out the simple fact that we have to make less mistakes against good teams like that.”

So Markey has amped up training sessions, putting his players in game situations that challenge them mentally and physically more so than earlier in the season.

After the second loss to Tulsa, Markey said this week has been about airing out what they feel like must change to produce a result against the top team. A lot of frustrations have been exorcised and Markey feels like team chemistry is rising.

“I think we’re between 90 and 95 percent when it comes to having everybody on the same page all claiming the same end goal,” Markey said. “That’s what these last two games are going to be about. We’re close to culminating to the right thing.”

Last season, FC Wichita won the conference championship in a different format, where every team played each other twice and the regular season determined the champion.

This season has offered a different set of challenges, but Markey is confident FC Wichita has the firepower to defend its title.

“This season has been like a 10,000-piece puzzle,” Markey said. “And now suddenly all of the pieces that you want are the ones that you’re starting to pick up. Everything is falling into place and it all makes sense. It’s pretty cool to watch and I think fans are going to see a very entertaining FC Wichita on Friday.”

This story was originally published June 30, 2016 at 2:53 PM with the headline "FC Wichita in final chase for week off from playoff soccer."