By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Sophomore Mason Haas blasted a wind-aided free kick into the net Tuesday night to propel Shawnee Heights to the second round of the Class 5A soccer playoffs. The T-Birds overcame Kansas City-Schlagle 2-1 in an extra period of play at Bettis Family Sports Complex.
Shawnee Heights sophomore Mason Haas (9) scored the game-winning goal in the T-Birds' 2-1 overtime win over KC-Schlagle Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
By good fortune of the coin flip, Shawnee Heights had the wind at their backs in the extra period. Haas’ kick sailed over the Stallions’ defensive alignment and beyond the reach of the leaping goalkeeper. The stunned expressions on the faces of the T-Birds revealed how frustrated they had been by their inability to score.
“I knew if I put it back post, the goalie would have trouble dealing with it,” Haas said. “Even I was kind of surprised when it went in. I had the wind at my back and that put more pace on the ball.”
Sophomore Brayan Diaz gave the T-Birds an early tally despite playing into the wind in the first half. But the Stallions evened the score at the 16:00 mark of the first half. After flipping ends at the half, the T-Birds were stymied. It took Haas’ overtime blast to break the deadlock.
“I would call it an evening of obstacles more than frustration,” Haas said. “Things didn’t go our way, but we found a way to win. And that’s what a good team does.”
While pleased with the final result, T-Bird coach Nic Simons wasn’t too charitable about his team’s work.
“Last week we clinched a league title, and we had a game plan, but tonight we completely abandoned it,” Simons said. “We just didn’t exploit our strengths tonight. Sometimes you have to win ugly, and that’s what we did.
“Watching the second half, we were so close. Some of that was just having an off night. But some of that was needing some good fortune with the wind. And that’s kind of what we got.”
The T-Birds improved to 10-6-1 with the victory. Simons pointed out that his team is made up mostly of sophomores and juniors.
“(Our inconsistency) is a bit of a mark of a young team, and that’s really what we are,” Simons said. “We’re going to learn some lessons from tonight. We learned that when we’re good, we can be great. And when we kind of just go through the motions, like we did for 40 minutes, that can be kind of tough for us.”
The T-Birds will face an enormous test next. As the eighth seed in the Class 5A East Region, they will play top-seeded Blue Valley Southwest in the second round of the playoffs on Thursday.
The T-Birds are not unfamiliar with their next opponent. The were downed by Blue Valley Southwest 6-0 on Oct. 17. But Simons noted that Shawnee Heights trailed just 1-0 after a half of play.
“We really frustrated them, and we did a lot of great things,” Simons recalled. “It was maybe the best half of soccer we’ve played all season.
“Blue Valley Southwest, they’re for real. They’re a real contender for a state title. But I told the boys ‘Winners step onto the field knowing they are going to win. That’s how we need play on Thursday. Whether we wind up winning or not, you have to step onto the field knowing you’re going to be a winner.’ If you’re going to win a state title, you have to beat somebody good at some point.”
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 2, KC-SCHLAGLE 1 (OT)
KC-Schlagle (8-9-0) 1 0 0 — 1
Shawnee Heights (10-6-1) 1 0 1 — 2
KC-Schlagle -- Goal: Tejada. Assists: none.
Shawnee Heights -- Goals: Diaz, Haas. Assists: none.
