Kansas high school girls soccer: Tiny details come up big in Maize South quarters win
Every soccer team needs a player like Maize South sophomore Olivia Oenning, who is more interested in winning 50-50 balls in the midfield and clearing chances in her own third than hunting goals.
Players like that rarely receive the attention and the accolades of the premier goal-scorers, but they can be just as important to a team’s success.
Maize South can attest to that after Oenning produced perhaps her finest performance in a Maverick uniform in their 3-1 rivalry win over Maize on their home field Tuesday in the Class 5A quarterfinals.
The victory sends Maize South (16-1-2) back to the Kansas high school girls soccer state tournament, where it will face defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas (15-0-2) in Friday’s 5 p.m. semifinals at Stryker Soccer Complex.
“Olivia has probably been one of the most underappreciated players on our team,” Maize South coach Rey Ramirez said. “She allows us to go forward in our attack because she can neutralize the other team’s best forward. There’s no stat for that, but I think everybody who saw the game (Tuesday) knows she’s a large part of our success.”
Oenning has the versatility and the mindset, more importantly, to play either center back or defensive midfielder, depending on what her team needs for that game.
On Tuesday, Ramirez had Maize South start the game more conservatively, with Oenning on the back line, out of respect for the goal-scoring prowess of Maize forward Haley Rogers. The strategy backfired, as the Mavericks failed to generate quality chances and Rogers scored anyway to give Maize a 1-0 advantage at halftime.
“What flipped the game was releasing (Oenning) up the field because that allowed us to attack more,” Ramirez said. “We risked a little bit more in the back, but we were down a goal, so we had to send numbers forward.”
The subtle change unlocked Maize South’s attack in the second half, but not before Oenning put out one last fire on defense.
Maize took a well-placed corner in the 42nd minute when the cross connected squarely with the head of Elyce Pfeifer, who pummeled the ball back across goal on frame and caught the goalkeeper flat-footed.
It would have given Maize a 2-0 lead immediately out of halftime and completely altered the complexion of the rest of the game. Instead, Oenning, always diligent in the details of defending, was positioned exactly where she was supposed to be on the back post to prevent the would-be goal and provide the clearance.
“That’s just the way I’ve always been,” Oenning said. “It’s never really been my mindset as a soccer player (to try to score goals). I like to do my work behind the scenes.”
While that clearance may have been a flashy play, Oenning has earned her reputation as a stopper through plays that don’t draw attention. She specializes in extinguishing threats before they even become threats, like poking the ball loose from an attacking player or reading a run from a striker to beat them to the spot and prevent a through ball from ever being played.
But on Tuesday, Oenning’s flashy play will be remembered as a crucial swinging point in the game. Less than 90 seconds following the clearance, Maize South’s star forward Kyndal Ewertz wiggled loose down the left sideline and showed off her pace to dribble around two defenders to the end line, where she then demonstrated tremendous poise for a sophomore to tap the ball at full speed a split-second before Maize goalkeeper Karsyn Slothower dove to smother the play.
All that was required of Maize South senior Adriana Delgado was to stick her left leg out and drag the ball into the open net for the equalizer.
“Kyndal is as prolific of a scorer as there is in the state and on that particular play she showed the composure of a first team all-state player, of a Division I-caliber player,” Ramirez said. “The composure to go through what she went through and then to have the vision to find the open player… That sort of moment inside the box, the average player will panic. Kyndal showed why she’s anything but average.”
Given new license to roam forward in the attack, it didn’t take Oenning long to make an impact in the second half.
In the 50th minute, a deflection came Oenning’s way in the middle of the field and out of the corner of her eye she saw junior Grizel Lumbreras making a run toward goal with a defender on her back hip. Oenning snapped a low line drive with just the right bend to avoid Maize’s patrolling center back and hit Lumbreras in stride and with a good first touch, Lumbreras was able to easily slot away the go-ahead goal.
“It definitely feels good when you can get those assists sometimes,” Oenning said.
Maize South added an insurance goal later in the second half on a free kick from sophomore Lexi Bauer that connected with Delgado for the senior’s second goal of the game.
But after the program’s latest signature victory, all anyone on the team wanted to talk about was the play of the player who takes pride in work that usually goes unnoticed.
“(Oenning) was so valuable for us and helped our team out so much tonight,” Ewertz said. “She’s always winning those 50-50 balls and clearing balls and that’s so important when you’re going against dangerous players like Haley (Rogers). She helped our defense on so many plays, I don’t know if we win without her.”
Eisenhower, McPherson and Buhler all lock up state bids
In the other local Class 5A quarterfinal, Goddard Eisenhower struck first in the opening five minutes when Mackenzie Jordan scored and then star sophomore Bella Smith netted an insurance goal in the second half of the Tigers’ 2-0 victory over Andover.
Eisenhower (17-1-1) advanced as the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A West region and will face Mill Valley (17-2) in Friday’s 7 p.m. semifinals at Stryker Soccer Complex in Wichita.
In the Class 4-1A quarterfinals, Ellie Bowers sent McPherson to the state tournament with the game-winner in double-overtime finishing on a rebound from a shot by Lauren Labertew in the Bullpups’ 3-2 win over Circle.
McPherson took a 2-0 lead on goals from Megan Everhart and Olive Rodriguez, only for Circle to dramatically tie the game with two goals in the final five minutes of regulation by Milan Hunter and Kya Thornton.
Buhler upset top-seeded Mulvane on the road in a 2-1 victory in the other local quarterfinal. It was leading scorer Aubrey Tanksley who once again came up clutch for the Crusaders, scoring both goals in the game, including the game-winner in the 77th minute.
Buhler (11-7-1) will face Cair Paravel (15-3) in the first Class 4A semifinal on Friday at 5 p.m at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka, while McPherson (15-3-1) will take on the five-time defending state champion Bishop Miege (13-5-1) at 7 p.m.
In Class 6A, Wichita Northwest’s spirited run to its second straight appearance in the quarterfinals ended in an 8-0 loss at Washburn Rural.
Kansas high school girls soccer quarterfinals scores
Class 6A
Washburn Rural 8, Wichita Northwest 0
Manhattan 3, Garden City 1
Class 5A
Goddard Eisenhower 2, Andover 0
Maize South 3, Maize 1
Class 4-1A
Buhler 2, Mulvane 1
McPherson 3, Circle 2 (2 OT)
KSHSAA girls soccer state tournament schedule
Class 6A (Olathe College Boulevard Activity Center)
Washburn Rural (16-2-1) vs. Olathe Northwest (14-4-1), 5 p.m. Friday
Blue Valley West (14-3-1) vs. Manhattan (15-3-1), 7 p.m.
Third-place match, 12 p.m. Saturday
Championship, 2 p.m.
Class 5A (Wichita Stryker Soccer Complex)
St. Thomas Aquinas (15-0-2) vs. Maize South (16-1-2), 5 p.m. Friday
Goddard Eisenhower (17-1-1) vs. Mill Valley (17-2), 7 p.m.
Third-place match, 12 p.m. Saturday
Championship, 2 p.m.
Class 4-1A (Topeka Hummer Sports Park)
Cair Paravel (15-3) vs. Buhler (11-7-1), 5 p.m. Friday
McPherson (15-3-1) vs. Bishop Miege (13-5-1), 7 p.m.
Third-place match, 12 p.m. Saturday
Championship, 2 p.m.
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