How Maize South’s Kyndal Ewertz used tenacious mentality to become girls soccer star
Maize South has featured some of the most talented girls soccer players in the Wichita area for a decade now.
Playing for a prestigious program, Kyndal Ewertz is already finding a way to stand out. The sophomore striker already has 24 goals and nine assists in 13 games this season, powering the Mavericks (10-1-2) to a 12-match unbeaten streak and vying for the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A West region entering Tuesday’s game at Campus.
Ewertz recently scored a record-breaking six goals in Maize South’s 8-0 win over Salina Central last week, setting the program record for most goals in a game. She is well on her way to breaking the program’s single-season scoring record and with 43 goals (and counting), Maize South coach Rey Ramirez believes she will go down as the top goal-scorer in program history.
“We’ve been blessed at Maize South with some incredible soccer players, both on the boys and girls side, and I’ve learned to simply enjoy these moments and these seasons with such a talented and gifted player like Kyndal,” Ramirez said.
“She is just an impressive, powerful forward who has a knack for goals. She just has this tenacious desire and attitude out on the field. When it comes to winning games and scoring goals, it’s Kyndal Ewertz for us.”
Ewertz has been addicted to finding the back of the net since her father introduced her to the game when she was 4. She has a blend of speed, size and power, which has allowed her to grow her goal-scoring prowess and blossom into a Division I prospect playing year-round for her club team, Kansas Rush Wichita.
“When I play, I almost try to get angry at the other team to try to motivate myself,” Ewertz said. “I think when I’m angry, I play better. Once the game starts, I feel my heart beating and I just get this rush of adrenaline. It’s like my fifth gear kicks in and I just go.”
After scoring 19 goals as a freshman, Ewertz earned a reputation as one of the most dangerous forwards around. She is the top concern for every back line she goes up against with some choosing to mark her everywhere in the final third of the field.
Even with the extra attention, Ewertz has found a way to elevate her game even further this season. Ramirez has been impressed by how clinical she has been finishing in her sophomore season. Perhaps her best performance of the season came when she scored all four goals in Maize South’s 4-3 win over Andover, handing the Trojans their first loss of the season.
“When she gets into open space, she does not miss very often,” Ramirez said. “A lot of girls will take 10 shots to score a few. Kyndal only needs a few shots to score a few. Whenever she finds herself in those 1-v-1 situations, there’s not a lot of girls who are going to be able to keep up with her stride-for-stride and muscle her off the ball.”
Ewertz’s knack for scoring has become even more critical for Maize South since the season-ending knee injury suffered in mid-April by star senior forward Kaylyn Truong, who paired with Ewertz to form one of the most dangerous goal-scoring duos in the state. Truong hasn’t let the injury dampen her spirit, as Ramirez said her leadership from the sidelines has been crucial to Maize South’s success recently.
Another key has been the versatility of senior Payten Hendershot, who has moved up the field to replace Truong from her playmaking role in the middle of the field. Hendershot has introduced her own blend of creativity to the position and has shown a deft passing touch, splitting defenders with through balls for Ewertz to chase down.
“Most of my goals are from assists by Payten,” Ewertz said. “She’s so good at putting the ball in the perfect spot. We already have a ton of chemistry and she knows what kind of balls I like and she produces them. She’s one of the best passers I’ve ever played with.”
Maize South is loaded with depth all over the field, as players like Grizel Lumbreras, Ella Eskridge, Aubrey Sommer and Olivia Oenning have stepped up in the midfield, while Rachel Riley, Layla Doyon and Lexi Bauer command the back line for the Mavericks and Adison Hendershot and Hadley Ostrander have rotated in goal to form one of the best pairings around.
While more goal-scoring records might fall later this season, Ewertz isn’t concerned about individual accolades. She is motivated to play for Truong and to lead the Mavericks back to the state tournament and claim some kind of hardware.
“It’s definitely weird because I never thought coming into high school that I would be breaking any kind of records,” Ewertz said. “But I want to keep scoring to help my team make it to state. It will be hard without Kaylyn, but we hope we can still make it and we’re motivated to win for her.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 6:23 AM.
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