Maize High soccer team scores off flip throw-in — twice — against rival

The crowd started getting antsy.

Ashlyn Lakin grabbed the ball for a throw-in and started her retreat as her Maize High soccer teammates got into position. She sprinted toward the sideline, galloped once and cartwheeled. She put the ball on the ground and flipped over the top, launching the ball into the 6-yard box.

It's a play few can make, and in a 2-0 victory against previously undefeated Maize South, her flip throw-in worked not once but twice.

"For us, it's even more dangerous than a corner kick just because of the velocity it's coming in at," Maize coach Jay Holmes said.

The first goal came midway through the first half. Lakin threw the ball about 30 yards, and Rachel Marshall got her head to it and buried it for her fourth goal of the season.

Holmes said the Eagles have scored off the flip throw-in several times, but the second goal was unique.

Up a goal with only about 10 minutes left, again Lakin catapulted the ball into the box. Instead of a Maize player heading it toward goal, a Maize South player tried to clear it. The ball ricocheted off her and deflected off the goalkeeper, Haven Johannsen, and trickled into the net for an own-goal.

Holmes has been coach at Maize for 11 years. He said he has never seen a goal from a flip throw-in where none of his players touch the ball. He said, by rule, at least two player have to touch the ball off a throw-in before the ball goes into the next to count as a goal.

Marlon Rios was on the losing side Thursday night. The Maize South coach said defending a throw-in like that is extremely challenging

"Our kids are not used to that," Rios said. "We practiced it yesterday, but it's different when it's in the game. There's a lot of pressure, and you can lose track of some of the players."

Lakin heard about the flip throw-in as a fifth-grader. She used to be a gymnast, so the flip wasn't the hard part; the trajectory was.

"I immediately started practicing in the front yard and throwing down the street to my mom," Lakin said.

She said she never had problems falling or having the ball slip. She just had to make sure the ball was clean, so her hands could stick, she said.

Lakin started donig the throw-in in games about two and a half years ago. A teammate told Holmes that Lakin could do it, and he was understandably thrilled.

"With the pace, it's just such an offensive threat," he said.

Maize remains undefeated thanks to the throw-ins, and the Mavericks now have their first loss of the season. The Eagles have gone through much of the gauntlet unscathed, facing Northwest, Derby, Carroll and Maize South.

But they face a hot Goddard group and Salina Central before getting state power St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday at home.

Holmes said they will enjoy this victory for a while, though.

"Two of the best teams in the area, and it's a rivalry game," Holmes said. "Both teams have a lot of respect for one another. We haven't had any easy games this year, and this was no different."

This story was originally published April 6, 2018 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Maize High soccer team scores off flip throw-in — twice — against rival."