The Garden City Telegram

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Garden City natives Benitez, Alcantara return to Memorial Stadium

Published 9/10/2009 in None

By MIKE KESSINGER

mkessinger@gctelegram.com

It was like playing on their home field.

Of course for Cindy Benitez and Ortensia Alcantara, two members of the Butler Community College women's soccer team, Memorial Stadium once was the place they could call home. On Wednesday, the two were back in Garden City, helping the Lady Grizzlies on the turf they played on for Garden City High School. The return home was successful as Butler routed Garden City Community College, 6-0.

"I felt good, but I felt nervous because my family was here," Alcantara said after the game. "Every time they're here I get nervous, so I don't know if I'm going to play good at the beginning or not. I ended up playing OK at the end."

A sophomore midfielder for the Lady Grizzlies, Alcantara was a second team All-Jayhawk Conference pick as a freshman. Now, a year under her belt, she has a high school teammate to play with. In her first year at the collegiate level, Benitez has started where she left off in high school, as a dangerous offensive threat.

"I've been pretty pleased," Benitez said of the season. "All of us girls get along and that just helps us out. We have a lot of chemistry. I've enjoyed it. We have a great team and we all play together well."

One of the state's leading scorers in high school, Benitez tops the Lady Grizzlies goal chart through the first six games in which she has scored 10. Three of them came on Wednesday for a hat trick. and she also had an assist against GCCC. Benitez finished her high school career with more than 150 goals.

It had been a year since Alcantara and Benitez played together, but since the start of practice the roommates, who share a dorm room with former Garden City resident Bertha Fajardo, have started to click more on the field.

"When Cindy first got (to Butler) it took those two a little bit to get back into the flow together," Lady Grizzlies coach Adam Hunter said. "As practice has gone on we've noticed Ortensia looking more for Cindy. You can tell they've played together before."

In her first game for Butler on Aug. 29 in the Barton County tournament, Benitez made her presence felt early when she scored a hat trick in Butler's 3-2 overtime win against Western Nebraska. Whatever nervous jitters the freshman had, it didn't show. Even with Benitez noticing how the junior college game is faster than high school, not much has seemed to have an effect on her game.

"It's just faster," Benitez said of the college game. "You just have to be smarter on the field too. It's good girls. They're a lot better than you expect. You just have to work harder."

Now, the two are enjoying their time back together while helping Butler progress. Wednesday was just the second game for GCCC, but it was the sixth for Butler, who is now 4-2.

For both Alcantara and Benitez, the chance to play in front of their hometown crowd was rewarding, and it's something both of them had had a chance to do at least once before moving on to the next level. And for now, the two are just glad to have a chance to play with one another again.

"It's good because I already know how she plays," Alcantara said of Benitez. "I kind of look for her because I know where she's going to be at all times."

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