By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Lawrence entered Tuesday's Class 6A regional soccer contest at Washburn Rural as an underdog, but an underdog that had won its last two games against the Junior Blues.
And for virtually the entire first half, the Lions looked like they might have another upset in them before a goal from senior star Easton Bradstreet with 30 seconds left before halftime jumpstarted the Junior Blues on the way to a 3-1 victory at McElroy Field.
Washburn Rural senior Easton Bradstreet had two goals and an assist in the Junior Blues' 3-1 Class 6A regional win over Lawrence Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Easton Bradstreet (13) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal with 30 seconds left in the Junior Blues' 3-1 Class 6A regional win over Lawrence. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"They're not your typical 15 seed, obviously,'' Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel said of the Lions. "The playoffs are an interesting beast because often-times the lower-seeded teams can play with nothing to lose and the guys on top play with a little more nervousness and expectations.
"I thought the first half we just kind of looked pretty tight and pretty nervous and that has a lot to do with Lawrence being a good team. We were really fortunate to get the goal right at the end of the half that probably calmed us down a little bit and then the key part of the game was the first 10 minutes of the second half when we got goals two and three.''
Bradstreet scored his second goal of the night at the 35:33 mark of the second half before junior Benett Hallauer scored less than three minutes later to put Washburn Rural in command, 3-0.
Bradstreet also had an assist for the 14-3-0 Juior Blues while freshmen Draden Chooncharoen and Dylan Willingham were also credited with assists.
With his two goals Tuesday Bradstreet now has 27 goals on the season and 55 in his career, just three off Austin Halsey's school single-season record of 30 and two behind Halsey's career-record of 57.
Lawrence (6-11-1) scored its lone goal with 1:08 remaining on a shot from senior Carson Schraad.
Washburn Rural will back home Thursday to host Wichita Northwest (11-5-1) in a 6 p.m. regional final.
The Junior Blues took a 4-3 double-overtime win over Northwest on Sept. 1.
Northwest advanced to Thursday's regional final with a 2-1 win over Wichita Southeast.
WASHBURN RURAL 3, LAWRENCE 1
Lawrence (6-11-1) 0 1 -- 1
Washburn Rural (14-3-0) 1 2 -- 3
Lawrence -- Goal: Carson Schraad.
Washburn Rural -- Goals: Easton Bradstreet 2, Benett Hallauer. Assists: Draden Chooncharoen, Dylan Willingham, Easton Bradstreet.
