By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
It took less than a minute for the Seaman Vikings girls soccer team to grab an advantage over Shawnee Heights at Bettis Family Sports Complex Thursday.
A second tally early in the second period gave the Vikings a 2-1 United Kansas Conference win and lifted them to a 6-0 mark on the season.
Seaman senior Jaycee Schumann (10) put the Vikings ahead to stay with an early goal in the Vikings' 2-1 UKC win over Shawnee Heights Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Freshman Ava Huston (7) scored Seaman's second goal in Thursday's 2-1 UKC win over Shawnee Heights at Bettis Family Sports Complex. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
After defending their end of the field once, the Vikings scored on their first opportunity at the offensive end. Seaman senior Jaycee Schumann punched a ball inside the left post just 57 seconds into the contest.
“At the beginning of a game, you never know how the other team is at first, so sometimes it just happens,” Schumann said of the early strike. “I don’t think they were quite adjusted to the speed and quite ready for us to come right off like that.
“It’s good (to score early) because it sets the tone for the rest of the game. It pumped us up and we kept it going.”
Freshman Ava Golightley gave the Vikings another goal 10 minutes into the second half, establishing what looked like a comfortable lead. Seaman freshman Ava Huston was credited with an assist on both of the Vikings’ goals.
Shawnee Heights would mount a late charge however.
With 9:18 left, a Viking handball in the penalty area give Shawnee Heights senior Lily Martin a penalty kick to cut the deficit to 2-1. The T-Bird crowd came alive and pushed the intensity to another level for the rest of the contest.
“They ratcheted it up, we had to ratchet it up, and then some. You have to match that intensity,” said Seaman coach Tim Nussbaum. “When you see the finish line, you have to get there somehow. We had to play a little more defensively. In that situation, we have to try to pass and connect to try to take the crowd out of it.”
Nussbaum praised the Viking defense for holding up under the attack.
“I was very impressed with the whole team, with our intensity and our attitude,” Nussbaum said. “We’re super-together. We have wonderful mental strength, and that helped us overcome a mistake by one of our best defenders. That’s what makes the best teams. They push through mistakes and find a way to win.”
Nussbaum said winning close games will prepare the Vikings for bigger tests ahead.
“We overcame Cair Paravel, which was a close game. We overcame this close game,” Nussbaum said. “It builds the girls' confidence. It builds their mentality. We just keep trying to get better every single day.”
The Vikings are well on the way to topping the 11-6-1 record they posted each of the past two seasons.
“It feels like we are way better than last year,” Schumann said. “We have so many good girls, and it helps that we all get along. We’ve got to keep it up to make our goal, which is to go to state. I’ve never made it to state in my whole soccer career. I know that’s the goal of all six of us seniors.”
SEAMAN 2, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 1
Seaman (6-0) 1 1 — 2
Shawnee Heights (3-2) 0 1 — 1
Seaman — Goals: Schumann, Golightley. Assists: Huston 2.
Shawnee Heights — Goals: Martin. Assists: none.
