By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Wins don’t come any tougher than they did for the Seaman Vikings in Thursday night’s 3-1 Centennial League road soccer victory over Topeka High.
The Vikings (9-4-1), who posted their third straight win, had to overcome a rainstorm and a Topeka High (10-4-0) squad, which had won five straight games.
Seaman soccer coach Tim Nussbaum talks to his team after Thursday's 3-1 Centennial League win over Topeka High. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
In back-to-back games, Seaman was able to put up outstanding first halves, giving their defense quite a bit of security in the second half.
In the last two games, Seaman has outscored their foes (High and Hayden), 6-0.
“We are playing great soccer this time of the year,” Seaman coach Tim Nussbaum said. “You want to play your best soccer at this time of the year and we are doing that as a team right now. We will keep continuing to get better every day. If we keep staying connected, playing strong and doing what the game requires us to do, we will be solid.
“We will keep learning every day and getting better every day.”
The month of May has been a perfect one for the Vikes. At the mid-point of the season, Seaman’s offense wasn’t clicking as much as it is right now.
Seaman’s opponent, Topeka High, was clicking on all cylinders heading into Thursday game. Topeka High’s stretch of three rugged games this week made the game against Seaman a hefty burden.
“We weren’t ourselves tonight,” Topeka High coach Derek Snook said. “Seaman is a great, well-coached team. Seaman presented us with a huge challenge today. These (weather) conditions weren’t ideal, but we need to fight through that. One thing this group has done this year is fight. We will have to keep fighting to get where we want to be.”
Seaman was dominant in the first half on both sides of the ball. Seaman’s three goals and takeaway defense made it a long 40 minutes for the Lady Trojans.
Topeka High’s offense was still explosive, but the goals weren’t there for them early on in this game due to key defensive plays made by Seaman.
Elinore Stallbaumer executed the role of lockdown defender in the entire contest. In the first half, the sophomore made key stops preventing Topeka High from scoring for the entire first half. Whenever Avery Zimmerman or Tae Thomas had an open alley for a goal, E. Stallbaumer did her part in jumping in front of a potential goal.
“Elinore is one of our best one versus one defenders,” Nussbaum said. “She was so strong against (High) tonight. Hardly anybody gets by her and her presence was a huge part of our win today.”
E. Stallbaumer’s intense pressing defense prevented Topeka High to score a total of nine times while Seaman goalkeeper Meagan Mills recorded four saves.
Haylee Williams sparked the offensive excitement for Seaman in the first 6:52 in the first half. The senior midfielder would collect the first goal in the half.
Seaman midfielder Brooklyn Yingling would continue her recent hot streak with her third goal scored in the last two games. Yingling was left in open Lady Trojan territory where she had the go-ahead for the goal.
Topeka High would be stunned and would trail this contest early by two goals.
Topeka High and Seaman’s defense would play excellent for the next 27 minutes until Seaman would add one last dagger before halftime.
After a Topeka High foul, Carstyn Anderson would be rewarded with a free-kick. Anderson capitalized with a beautifully placed kick from near midfield for Seaman’s third goal of the day with 1:44 remaining before halftime.
While Seaman and Topeka High were in their locker rooms at the halftime break, Mother Nature made her presence known. The heavy Kansas rain started to fall, making the playing surface slippier than the way the teams left it.
Besides the adversity of the elements, Topeka High would have the uphill battle of being down by three goals.
When Topeka High was looking for an answer, Thomas delivered. Zimmerman would place a perfect ball for Thomas and she executed with a stellar goal. Thomas’ goal would give the Trojans some life with 29:24 left of game time.
Similar to Tuesday night’s game against Hayden, Seaman was going to have to bear down and halt the momentum. They did just that and more on Thursday.
Avary Polter, Jaycee Schumann, Allison Rosenberger, Taylin Stallbaumer, Marin Schuler and Kinley Wilhelm made sure the win wouldn’t slip away on defense. The defensive core would shut out Topeka High for the remainder of the second half.
Topeka High would attempt three second-half goals with one attempt being close to inflicting serious damage on the Lady Vikes. Cierra Carranza attempted a midfield free-kick and just nicked the top of the crossbar nearly decreasing the deficit by 1.
Seaman’s defense would be too tough for Topeka High to overcome in the end.
Seaman will look to extend its hot streak when it hosts Highland Park on Tuesday. Topeka High will hit the road and take on Class 6A No. 3-ranked Washburn Rural on Monday.
SEAMAN 3, TOPEKA HIGH 1
Seaman (9-4-1) 3 0 – 0
Topeka High (10-4-0) 0 1 – 1
Seaman – Goals: Williams, Yingling, Anderson.
Topeka High – Goal: Thomas.
