The boys’ varsity soccer team competed against Olathe East High School in the final round of the Sunflower League Championship on Oct. 18. East fell to Olathe East, their biggest rival, with a score of 1-0. The game placed Olathe East as the number one seed for the State tournament, which will begin on Oct. 25.
“We played really hard and kept the game competitive,” junior Max Maday said. “We just needed to create more chances to put the ball in the back of the net.”
Although Olathe East Hawks won the game against East last year, the Lancers had been preparing for their biggest competition of the season. Throughout the first half, the two teams were even. With multiple saves from each of the team’s goalies, junior Collyn Lowry for East and Aaron Johnson for Olathe East, neither team was able to score in the first half. Even though no one had score, the game kept its intensity.
“Olathe East is our biggest rival and you can feel it on the field because the speed of the game is much quicker,” Maday said.
At the beginning of the second half, Olathe East had the kickoff and immediately moved to offense. An Olathe East player had an opening and passed Lancer defense. The ball made it past the Lancer’s goalie, putting the Hawks ahead 1-0.
After senior Grayson Rapp was tackled, East had a free kick. Unfortunately, East couldn’t get past Olathe East’s goalie to score. Even though they lost Sunflower League, the team is looking forward to their chance meeting the Hawks in the State tournament.
“Hopefully this year we can win East’s first ever state title,” senior Oliver Bihuniak said. “The team is confident we can do it.”
