WINGS WIN OVER CHICAGO, 8-6 TAYOU BROTHERS 'STRENGTHEN' TEAM

The Wichita Wings are facing a new rival in a two-game weekend blitz in Chicago, taking on the Chicago Mustangs for the first time in franchise history. The first game of the series, Saturday night, was a physical game with the larger Wings using their size against the younger and smaller Mustangs and coming up with a hard-fought 8-6 win.

The second game in the MASL2 series is at 2 p.m. Sunday, where the Wings return to the Mustang home pitch seeking a Mother's Day victory.

And if they are going to come away with a pair of road wins, they are going to have to work for it.

"Going into the weekend we knew we would have to be organized and patient to come away with a couple of victories," said Coach Roger Downing.

The Wings headed into the weekend with 3-0 record racking up three victories in January over Omaha, Amarillo and Colorado. Chicago has got in some action against the likes of Cleveland, Colorado, and Omaha in April. The Wings appear to have taken the break to strengthen not only their skills but their roster.

Taylor Henry got the Wings on the scoreboard quickly in the first minutes of the game. It would be the only time they led the Mustangs until they produced a scoring blitz in the fourth quarter. Lucio was prolific around the goal, peppering the net and the Mustangs' goal keeper - as were Benji, Robbins and Ten Eyck, who all added to the Wings' tally.

Other standouts Saturday night were new faces Franck and Uzi Tayou. They have returned to Wichita in a loan between the Wichita Wings and the Ontario Fury. The Tayou brothers are no strangers to Wichita after previous outdoor stints for FC Wichita. They quickly made an impression on the Mustangs and the scoreboard in their first game with the orange.

MASL superstar Franck Tayou, is a target forward, and his brother Uzi takes the opposite end of the pitch as a defender. The players will return to Ontario at the conclusion of the MASL2 season but are already making an impact with multiple shots on goal and strong defensive work in the first game against Chicago.

Downing said the brothers add to the quality team he and organization management are building. Fans who watched the livestream of the game saw the two men were quickly blending into their new team.

"I was excited to get the new additions for the weekend. The guys have been working extremely hard in practice and adding a couple of seasoned vets will only strengthen our squad," said Downing.

Both Uzi and Franck began second half on the attack as strikers, but it was a pass from Benji to Robbins that got the Wings back on the scoreboard. The goal meant the teams were tied up midway through the third quarter, 3-3.

"We made it a point to be more aggressive getting into the attack in the second half. Uzi did a great job getting forward," said Downing.

Benji slid a ball to Kevin Ten Eyck who scored with five seconds left in the third start the Wings' impressive second half assault. The two teams began the fourth quarter all even at 5-5.

The Wings didn't look back after tying things up. Goal number six came quickly and seven and eight were rapid-fire with less than a minute between them. The Mustangs brought out the sixth attacker twice in the final minutes of the game, but were unable to stop the Wings' momentum as the last quarter wound down.

And if you missed the livestream on Saturday, the Sunday matchup is destined to be more of the same, physical action and displays of ball-handling skills.

"Tomorrow I expect the game to be just as fast and physical," said Downing. "They will definitely be out for revenge tomorrow."

After taking on the Mustangs all weekend, the Wings will have three regular season home games in June before hosting the M2 championships July 17 and 18.

The Wings-Mustangs matches are streaming on the MustangsFacebook page this weekend. Fans can also follow along as the staff live Tweets and updates the Facebook feed during the game, at 2 p.m. Sunday. Visit https://www.wichitawingssoccer.com/home for ticket sales and game information.

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