Unbeaten no more: Maize South takes down No. 1 Andover Central in boys soccer

Andover Central, the No. 1 team boys high school soccer team in Kansas Class 5A, had yet to lose this season and hadn’t lost at home since 2016.

Maize South turned both facts on their ear Tuesday night, beating Andover Central 3-2 in overtime.

“Words can’t describe how I feel. We needed this,” Maize South senior Andrew Bliss said. “We really deserved this as a team. We’ve dropped some games to teams they’ve beaten, and we needed to show ourselves that we’re better than what we’ve been in the past.”

The Mavericks knew playing Andover Central would be tough, but they didn’t expect to lose five starters to injuries Tuesday night.

Maize South sophomore Raul Gerhardus juked at least three Andover Central defenders to score the first goal of the game. After finding the net, however, Gerhardus went down hurt and missed the remainder of the match.

Depleted as the game wore on, Maize South needed help from the depth of its bench.

“It shows us our potential and how far we can go,” Bliss said. “We lost a great player, but we had a bunch of players step up — one man down, another player steps up.”

Andover Central equalized thanks to junior Leyton Harper, who got a clean shot on a free kick five minutes before the first half ended.

Sophomore Landon Eskridge put Maize South back on top with a header in the second half. But just when the Mavericks thought they were in the clear, Andover Central knocked down a last-minute goal to send the game to overtime.

Maize South’s winning goal took no more than 30 seconds of the extra session. Senior Bryce Bowman drilled the ball to the far post on a breakaway.

“Coach (Rey Ramirez) has been telling me just to break the defense down — to just break each player down one-by-one,” Bowman said. “That’s what I did.”

Ramirez said the win showcased his team’s effort.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am, how happy I am, and how pumped I am,” he said. “It’s just a testament to the hard work and the growth that our players had undertaken.”

The win gives Maize South an extra confidence and momentum that will be crucial in the playoffs.

“This just gives us a little more belief and more of that confidence that you need,” Ramirez said.