West keeps rolling, beats Heights 2-1

From: pavel15@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, September 6, 2005 9:54 PM To: Turner, Eric; TOP - Sports Subject: west-heights soccer

Next week, I'll be at the Aquinas-Rural game on Tuesday, which should be a doozy, although I know it's at the same time as the High- West game.

Just as a note, Kevin Le's name is spelled correctly, with one "E".

By Paul Carr

SPECIAL TO THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

After knocking off defending Class 5A champion Blue Valley West in the season opener, the Topeka West boys soccer team continued its torrid start on Tuesday night, nudging last year's state runner-up, Shawnee Heights, 2-1.

The T-Birds, who lost 17 starters to graduation, actually struck first inside of three minutes. As part of a quick counterattack, junior Josh Hardy ran onto a through ball in the box, and had his initial shot stopped by West goalkeeper Drew Saylor. But the deflection trickled toward the goal, where Hardy tapped it in for a lead that held up through halftime, when the Chargers made a few small adjustments.

"You always make a few adjustments at halftime, and we went back to our original shape in the second half," said West coach Chris McGinnis.

"Then some guys stepped up for us."

First in line was junior David Stewart. Early in the second half, a wandering cross from right midfielder David Kaufman found him on the left side of the box, where he dodged teammate Bobby Stacks to fire the equalizer by Heights keeper Chris Moore.

Over the next 25 minutes, the tilt became very physical, as three of the game's five yellow cards were collected. There were no goals however. Both teams had chances to win the game, but both were denied. A diving header by Thunderbird sophomore Bryan Prentice angled off the crossbar, and West's Kevin Le failed to convert a breakaway opportunity, pushing his shot wide. But Le atoned for his error when it mattered most.

With less than eight minutes remaining, Stacks found Le open near the left post, and the senior buried the game winner in the right corner.

"I was psyched," said Le. "I wanted a goal bad, and we really wanted to stay undefeated. It feels really good."

Last week the Chargers tore through the Fat Cat Tournament at Blue Valley, toppling East Kansas League members Blue Valley West, Miege, and Blue Valley Northwest in the process, an impressive streak that may have contributed to West's slow start last night.

"At the beginning of the game, I thought we were pretty flat, probably because we thought we were good at 3-0," said McGinnis, pleased that his team survived a difficult road test. "But then we got a few opportunities we had to seize, and we did. We're on a high right now."

Topeka West 0 2 --- 2 Shawnee Heights 1 0 - -- 1 Topeka West (4-0, 1-0) --- Goals: Stewart, Le. Assists: Kaufman, Stacks.

Shawnee Heights (1-1-1, 1-1-1) --- Goal: Hardy.

Copyright 2005
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