Recap: Sunflower League Soccer Championship game

On Oct. 22, the Lancers fell to the Olathe West Owls in the Sunflower League Championship game, ultimately losing 2-3.

According to Varsity Coach Jamie Kelly, the Lancers will be seeded second going into playoffs while the Owls will be first.

Co-captain junior Caden Nicholson felt that his team handled the game well considering the pressure the game held.

“We knew it would be the biggest game we’d had up until this point,” Nicholson said. “And we expected exactly what [Olathe West] brought. They hold the ball and possess it for long periods of time, so we had to absorb that and hit them on the break.”

Kelly felt that the game was close due to the similar style of play between the teams.

“[Olathe West] only had one loss and remained undefeated in [the] league,” Kelly said. “I have a lot of respect for their coach because I believe he coaches the game the right way. It’s very similar to how we do it here where we have a possession style of play.”

Kelly also attributes West’s success to their star player, senior Jony Munzo. Munzo scored all three goals for West, his first goal being a breakaway, which Kelly found anyone could do. But the second goal was the game changer. It was shot in the upper 90 with nine minutes left in the game, and they were down by one — the pressure hanging on Munzo’s shoulders.

Although they were unable to stop Munzo’s hat trick, Nicholson felt that the work ethic and discipline his team showed — especially from the defensive line — pressured the Owls through the 90-minute game. He also believes that if junior Sean Brooks was available to play, the turnout could have been different.

Brooks received two yellow cards in the Olathe East game last Thursday that suspended him from playing in the Sunflower League Championship.

 “I think that the team played great and I really thought we had it,” Brooks said. “If we had our team at full strength we definitely [would have] beat them.”

Regardless of the loss, both Kelly and the team are mentally preparing for the unknown difficulty of playoffs.

“Last night felt like an end and people were disappointed, but I think it’s more of a start,” Nicholson said. “Yes, Sunflower is important, but we have bigger goals and state is just around the corner.”

The first playoff game is Oct. 29 and the opposing team will not be announced until the night before. According to Kelly, the nice thing about being seeded high is that they have the advantage of hosting home games at the Shawnee Mission Athletic Complex.

“The playing field is leveled [heading into playoffs],” Nicholson said. “The lower seeded teams are going to fight for their lives because they have nothing to lose and since we’re a high seed team, everyone will want to beat us.”

Additionally, Kelly said that it is a possibility they will face teams like Shawnee Mission Northwest, where East won by just one goal, making it easier for them to lose in the first round.

“After losing 13 seniors last year and for these boys to do what they have done this year is a huge accomplishment for them,” Kelly said. “I am very proud of them. They have been extremely coachable, they listen and have done everything they can to get to where they are now.”