The North Platte High boys ambushed Hastings with a barrage of goals in the first half and they upset the Tigers, 5-3, on Tuesday at Madison Middle School.

“We were able to find some pace,” NPHS Head Coach Danny Whitney said. “They like to push their outside backs up and we were able to transition.”

It took the Bulldogs (5-8) just one minute to score and take the lead.

“It was probably unexpected for (Hastings),” Whitney said. “I don’t think they were expecting us to be that aggressive. It was big to get that one at the start but there was an awful lot of soccer to be played.”

Hastings (8-4) answered back eight minutes later with a goal by Jose Mares to tie the game. But one minute later, North Platte scored again to regain the lead.

“That was even bigger than the first goal,” Whitney said. “To go up 1-0 at the start was a surprise but they got the equalizer. For us to keep our commitment and keep the pressure on, that’s more impressive than going up early.”

Halfway through the first half, the Bulldogs added another goal to go up 3-1. Then at the end of the half, Breckin Torrez scored to make it 4-1`eight seconds before halftime.

“I challenged the kids to be the aggressor and to see if you could give 10 percent more than the guy across from them and we did that in the first half,” Whitney said. “That’s what the difference was — the attitude, commitment and aggression from our guys.”

Halfway through the second half, Mares scored again for Hastings. But with six minutes left, Elmer Guzman scored off a rebound to make it a three-goal lead again for NPHS, effectively putting the game away.

Mares scored his third goal to record the hat trick in the final minutes but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs got their biggest win of the season, thus far.

“The beginning of our season was tough, we didn’t have many chances to score,” Whitney said. “We knew the potential was there and we had to keep the kids motivated for when it all starts to come together, to stick through it, keep creating opportunities and the goals came.”

Next, North Platte will host Scottsbluff (5-5) at Bauer Field on Tuesday to finish the regular season.

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