How a new-look defense has Eisenhower chasing a girls soccer state title
Roger Downing built Eisenhower’s best defense out of players who were never supposed to be defenders.
Two of them were playmakers. All four were new to the back line. Most of the lineup around them was young enough that even Eisenhower’s coach was thinking about what the Tigers might become next season, not necessarily what they could already be this spring.
Then Eisenhower lost its season opener to Maize South.
And hasn’t lost since.
The Tigers turned what could have been a reset year into another breakthrough season on Monday night, avenging their only loss with a 2-1 win over Maize South to reach the Class 5A semifinals for just the second time in program history.
Eisenhower (17-1) will host Blue Valley Southwest at 6 p.m. Wednesday with a spot in the state championship game at stake.
The Tigers built a 2-0 lead on goals from Reese Nusser and Kaitlyn Celso, then trusted the part of their team that has defined this unexpected run. Goalkeeper Jules Elliott made a season-high 11 saves, including several key stops while Eisenhower protected its lead, before Maize South finally broke through in the 70th minute.
The final 10 minutes were tense. Maize South pushed. Eisenhower bent, but didn’t break.
That has become the story of their season.
“It’s been a learning process,” Downing said. “Kaeleigh (Shamburger) and Dani (Smith) do a great job for us back there, and I put them back there because they are both leaders and very coachable. They have actually been two of our biggest playmakers because I’ve given them a lot of freedom to go forward.”
That was the gamble that reshaped Eisenhower’s season.
Shamburger, a junior, and Dani Smith, a sophomore, had the creativity and soccer IQ to help the Tigers in the attack, but Downing believed those same qualities could make them valuable in the center of the defense. Instead of using them only to chase goals, he trusted them to organize the game from the back, win balls, read danger and still join the attack when the moment was there.
They were joined by sophomore Jackey Twietmeyer and sophomore Sloane Wurbs on the outside, giving Eisenhower an entirely new back line.
Not just new starters — new defenders.
None of the four had played defense before this season.
That would be risky for any team. It felt especially bold for Eisenhower, which had to replace significant talent from last year’s group that went unbeaten in the regular season, earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A West bracket and then saw its championship hopes end in the quarterfinals.
This year’s team entered the season with only one senior playing significant minutes. The roster was packed with freshmen and sophomores. Downing thought the Tigers had a chance to build toward something special in 2027, when nearly everyone would be back.
Instead, they arrived a year early.
“I knew next year, we were going to be really good with so much returning,” Downing said. “So coming into this year, I was honestly thinking more about how could we build something this year where we would have even more success next year. But these girls have just bought in and trust each other and it’s been a great group to work with.”
The belief did not come all at once.
Before the season, Downing asked his players what they expected from themselves. Some were unsure. They knew how much Eisenhower had lost. They knew how young they were. They knew there would be mistakes.
Downing was more direct.
“We’re making it to state,” Downing told them back in March. “That’s our expectation.”
At first, that might have sounded ambitious for a team still learning itself. Then Eisenhower opened the season with a 3-2 loss to Maize South, the same team it would eventually have to beat to keep its season alive.
But the Tigers responded by winning every game after that.
Downing said the turning point came in early April when Eisenhower beat west-side rival Maize 2-0. That was the moment the Tigers began to see themselves differently. They were not just a young team building for the future. They were already good enough to contend with the best teams in Wichita.
“When you’re working with a younger team, sometimes you don’t see that same passion and that drive as you do with a group of seniors,” Downing said. “But I think after that Maize game, it showed them that they could really compete at a high level and do it.”
Eisenhower has done it with a formula that is not always flashy but has become remarkably reliable.
The Tigers tend to control the first half, strike early, build a lead and then ask their defense and Elliott to protect it. They do not have the gaudy scoring numbers that often come with a 17-win team. They do not often overwhelm opponents with waves of goals.
They just keep finding ways to win.
Senior Reagan Best has been the engine in the midfield, leading the team with 17 assists and giving Eisenhower a calm, creative presence to run the attack through. Nusser has emerged as one of the team’s most dangerous players with 12 goals and 10 assists. Shamburger, even from the back line, has a team-high 12 goals and eight assists. Smith has added 10 goals. Freshman Marisol Bernal has given the Tigers a young target forward who can occupy defenders and help connect the attack.
On Monday, the Tigers found their moments early, then trusted the structure that has carried them since March.
Now the Tigers are back in the semifinals for only the second time, powered by a goalkeeper playing the best soccer of her season, a back line coming together on the fly and a young roster that stopped waiting for next year.
Eisenhower was supposed to be building toward something.
Turns out, it was already here.
This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 1:15 PM.
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