By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The scoring didn’t come as early as Shawnee Heights wanted, but the T-Birds’ second-half offensive surge boosted them past Seaman, 3-2.
![Shawnee Heights' Levi Longstaff (right) tries to find a lane against Seaman's defense Thursday night in the T-Birds' 3-2 win. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]](/images/aa-images/LeviLongstaff_2.jpg)
Shawnee Heights' Levi Longstaff (right) tries to find a lane against Seaman's defense Thursday night in the T-Birds' 3-2 win. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
The rivalry was renewed on Thursday night as the new member of the United Kansas Conference, Seaman, hit the road to take on Shawnee Heights at Bettis Family Sports Complex.
Class 5A Shawnee Heights opened its season against four straight 6A schools with winning records and wasn't able to pick up any wins.
After Thursday night’s victory, the T-Birds have won two in a row against UKC programs (Turner and Seaman).
“We’ve truly been battle-tested,” Shawnee Heights coach Nic Simons said. “I think the lessons that we’ve learned from playing those high-quality 6A teams have been valuable to us. We’ve learned not to give up a single inch. I think the mentality that we’ve gained helped us pull one out tonight against a great Seaman team.”
The T-Birds put together a responsive and gutsy performance.
When Seaman gained momentum late in the second half, Shawnee Heights didn’t fold under the pressure from a fired-up Vikings squad.
“I thought we were threatening tonight,” Simons said. “I’d give our performance a great grade against a tough Seaman team. I thought at times we looked slow, but other then that, I was happy with the way we played tonight.”
It took Shawnee Heights 22:37 in the first half to net a goal. Isaac Wilson tapped the ball underneath a Vikings’ defender and set up Jack Phillips for a goal that was kicked in the left corner between the pipes.
The defenses from both sides would step up for the remainder of the half to keep the score at 1-0 Shawnee Heights.
The T-Birds would get things started relatively quickly in the second half with a Jordan Garvin goal. Garvin escaped a slide tackle near the goalie’s box and blasted the ball into the net in front of a diving Ayden Thompson.
With a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard for the T-Birds, Seaman knew it was time to mount some offense with the slim amount of time left they had on the board.
With the clock ticking at the 11:16 mark, Jack Walker took matters into his own hands and gave Seaman its first goal since the September 8th victory over Junction City.
Three minutes later, Seaman came up with a crucial penalty setting up Jesus Carrillo-Cardona for the penalty kick. Carrillo-Cardona kicked the goal in to give Shawnee Heights the 3-1 lead with 7:39 left in the contest.
The offensive outbursts kept on coming in the intense back-and-forth contest. Seaman’s Logan Townsend drilled a ball into the net after a slick pass from captain Jacob Anderson and the Vikings would trail by just one goal with just 5:22 to go.
“I was happy to get some goals in tonight,” Seaman coach Tim Nussbaum said. “Goals have been tough to come by lately and I was happy to see our offense put together some goals on the board. Unfortunately, we got some goals but we were easier to get scored on. I was happy with our possession but I wish we didn’t give up so many goals.”
The remaining five minutes were a chippy game of keep-away. The rivalry was certainly in play as the Shawnee Heights defense was able to hold off Seaman for the win in a hard-fought victory.
Shawnee Heights (2-3-1) will host league opponent Leavenworth (2-2) on Tuesday night at Bettis Family Sports Complex.
Seaman (1-3-2) will hit the road to take on Kansas City-Piper (3-4) on Tuesday.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 3, SEAMAN 2
Seaman (1-3-2) 0 2 – 2
Shawnee Heights (2-3-1) 1 2 – 3
Goals: Shawnee Heights – Phillips, Garvin, Carrillo-Cardona. Seaman – Walker, Townsend. Assists: Shawnee Heights – Wilson, Guajardo-Arizpe. Seaman – Anderson.
