By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
No. 4-ranked Shawnee Heights' late first-half surge was all the T-Birds needed to take down No-10-ranked Seaman in Monday's 3-1 road victory.
Shawnee Heights continued to be dominant on the defensive end, with Seaman’s goal against the T-Birds one of only two goals that they have allowed in the entire season.
Shawnee Heights' Isabell Van Fleet (white) advances the ball against Seaman's Kinley Wilhelm in Monday's 3-1 Heights soccer victory. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Shawnee Heights' Makenna Lunsford (white) attempts a free kick guarded by Seaman's (left to right) Stella Appelhanz, Carstyn Anderson and Kinley Wilhelm. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
“Having the defensive solidity is a big reason why we’ve been able to be successful,” Shawnee Heights coach Kellen Griffin said. “We’ve got to keep our defense going and communicating well. I thought we communicated on the field great tonight.
“When we communicate like we did, knowing our assignments and where the ball is will be much easier for us to win games.”
The T-Birds' defense was led by senior goalkeeper Tatum Hoge.
On Monday Seaman sophomore Taylin Stallbaumer roped a tight goal from a long distance to give the Lady Vikes’ their only goal against Hoge and Shawnee Heights.
Offensively, Katie Mulligan, Emily Loy and Kalyn Walter each had a goal in the 3-1 decision.
“The girls came out and they did what they were asked to do,” Griffin said. “We had to make some corrections from last week’s game. I also thought we had good combination play today, in terms of getting in behind the back line and we finished strong today.”
The scoring didn’t come easy to Shawnee Heights in the early portion of the contest. The Lady Thunderbirds didn’t score their first goal to break a 0-0 tie until 27:03 into the first half.
Mulligan would go on to score an unassisted goal in heavy traffic to put Shawnee Heights up, 1-0.
A span of 11:07 later after Mulligan’s goal, Loy would get a nice setup pass from Peyton Hack who would give Loy open field for the goal.
“I think we misjudged some balls in the air,” Seaman coach Tim Nussbaum said. “I think us midjudging the ball led to two out of the three goals. Maybe if we judged the balls in the air a little better, that could be us winning 3-1.
“(Heights) has a great backline and great speed. I thought their fowards were dynamic. When you make mistakes against dynamic forwards, usually they will get you on goals.”
Seaman led off the second half with Stallbaumer’s eye-catching goal which would decrease the Lady Vikes’ deficit to one goal.
Mulligan would serve up Walter just a few minutes later for a T-Bird goal, giving Shawnee Heights the two-goal lead back.
Strong defensive efforts for both squads would keep the score at 3-1 for the remaining 29:08 in the second half.
“I’m proud of how hard the girls played and the fight that they came in with today,” Nussbaum said.
No. 4-ranked Shawnee Heights (8-1) will hit the road again Tuesday to take on Basehor-Linwood. No. 10-ranked Seaman (6-4-1) will host Centennial League foe Topeka West on Thursday night.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 3, SEAMAN 1
Shawnee Heights (8-1) 2 1 – 3
Seaman (6-4-1) 0 1 – 1
Goals: Shawnee Heights – Mulligan, Loy, Walter. Seaman – Stallbaumer. Assists: Shawnee Heights – Hack, Mulligan.
