By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
The Topeka West Chargers' boys soccer season came to a close Thursday night in a 2-0 defeat to the Hays Indians in Class 5A regional championship at Hummer Sports Park.
The matchup was the second of the season between the two teams, with Hays coming out on top 2-0 on Sep. 10.
The 11th-seeded Indians earned a 2-1 win over Bishop Carroll on Monday night, while the third-seeded Chargers downed Goddard 7-0 to set up the rematch.
The teams were unable to be separated for the first 10 minutes of the contest. The Chargers survived an early scare in the fifth minute after Hays earned a corner kick, but a wide-open header from sophomore defender Brecken Otte sailed just over the crossbar.
The match would not remain scoreless for long, as the Indians took the lead in the 10th minute. Following a foul, Ivan Maldonado launched a free kick into the box, where senior Cooper Johnson was waiting to put a right-footed shot into the Charger net.
The situation would go from bad to worse for Topeka West, which gave up possession shortly after the kickoff and were forced to defend an attack from Hays. Just 19 seconds after assisting on his team’s first goal, Maldonado scored the Indians’ second goal to put the visitors in control.
Hays looked to stay aggressive, once again repelling the Charger attack and taking the ball into the hosts’ half of the pitch. The Indians nearly had a third goal in three minutes, but a shot by Henry Speno off a volley hit the crossbar before being corralled by West goalkeeper Gage Kindred-Noragon.
After the onslaught of pressure by the Hays attack, the Chargers settled in and held possession for longer periods of time. Despite the improved offense, West was unable to claw back into the contest, entering halftime with a two-goal deficit.
After the break, the Chargers continued to dominate possession, with Hays content to sit back on defense and counter-attack when given the opportunity.
Despite a significant advantage in time of possession, West could not finish off any of its chances, with the second half finishing scoreless to give Hays the 2-0 victory.
The Chargers finished with 10 shot attempts in the contest, with two coming on goal.
Junior midfielder Giancarlo Valenzuela led West with three shots, while Jafet Rodriguez and D’Ante Smith Dilone’ added two attempts each.
Kindred-Noragon finished with three saves in goal.
Hays advances to the 5A quarterfinals after taking 10 shots, with five coming on target. Maldonado led the Indians with three attempts to go along with a goal and an assist.
Senior goalkeeper Kenneth Fisher made two saves on his way to keeping a clean sheet.
Topeka West coach Josh Kutter, whose squad finishes the season 13-4-1, had high praise for the opposition.
"(Hays is) physical, they’re fast, they’re organized. When you have a team that can organize quickly the way they do, they can cover those spaces,” Kutter said.
Despite the loss, Kutter has high hopes for his team, which will only graduate two seniors from the starting lineup.
“(The freshmen) had a great first experience, and our returning players have new expectations,” Kutter said. “Rest up for a little bit, but a lot of them are going back to work with their club seasons. We’re only looking to do better.”
HAYS 2, TOPEKA WEST 0
Hays (10-8-0) 2 0 -- 2
Topeka West (13-4-1) 0 0 -- 0
Hays -- Goals: Johnson, Maldonado. Assist: Maldonado.
Topeka West -- Goals: None. Assists: None.
