By KLINT SPILLER

kspiller@dailynews.net

McPHERSON -- Thomas More Prep-Marian High School boys' soccer coach Shawn Lawson didn't have a complex explanation for why his team struggled Saturday at the McPherson Invitational.

Lawson said his team has tremendous individual talent, but they aren't a team yet. Against Salina South, TMP's disorganization led to the Monarchs' downfall, as they failed to communicate and mark in key situations and lost 4-0 in the third-place match.

The Monarchs (2-2) get a new group of students from different towns in Kansas and different nations from year to year. Having that import of talent is a positive, but getting them to work together can be a challenge, Lawson said.

"That's part of the problem when we have all these different kids coming in," Lawson said. "We've got a lot of superstars. We've got a lot of great individual players, but we don't have a great team yet. It's not a good team. Right now, it's just a bunch of individuals out there playing kind of when they want to."

The Monarchs struggled to get their shots on goal, as Salina South had 11 shots on goal to TMP's two. Salina South senior outside midfielder Trenton Keller scored the opening goal in the 18th minute on a diving header on a pass from junior Anthony Lopez.

Keller headed in another goal in the 62nd minute, but this time it came off a deflected shot off TMP junior goalkeeper Collan Lawson's hands.

Both were scored on the back side of the goal with no defenders there to stop him.

"It's not that hard (to stop those back side headers) if you're marking," Shawn Lawson said. "The outside mids weren't marking, and the outside defenders didn't have their heads on a swivel. ... It's not rocket science marking and keeping your head on a swivel."

In the 62nd minute, Salina South freshman Logan Manivong scored, but it was a shot that should have been stopped by Collan Lawson. Lawson thought the ball was curving right past the goal, but instead, he watched as the ball rolled into the bottom corner.

"It had an outside curve on it, so I was just going to let it go," Collan Lawson said. "Then it didn't curve enough and went into the corner. I should have known. You learn from your mistakes. It happens."

Salina South freshman Jose Escobedo beat TMP's back line to score the Cougars' final goal in the 70th minute. Offensively, the Monarchs had several hard shots that bounced off the cross bar, and the only players to get a shot on goal were seniors Robert Niyonsaba and Rodney Deus.

Collan Lawson finished with seven saves, while Salina South freshman goalkeeper Anthony Moreno had two. The Monarchs now have lost back-to-back 4-0 matches. They lost to Hays High 4-0 on Thursday in the semifinals. TMP defeated Maize South 4-2 on Tuesday.

Senior Carlos Duenes was named to the all-tournament team.