Olathe East advances to Class 6A boys soccer state title game

The symmetry was undeniable for Olathe East.

In Friday’s Class 6A boys soccer state semifinals, the Hawks won 2-0 against Washburn Rural — the team they lost to in last year’s semis.

And Saturday will feature Olathe East competing for a state title against Dodge City — the team the Hawks lost to in last year’s consolation game.

This time around, Olathe East is 19-1-0 and ranked 21st in the country.

“Our goal this whole season has been to go back and win the state championship,” Olathe East head coach Terry Hair said.

The Hawks got started on that goal early in the first half.

Eight minutes into Friday’s semifinal match at Wichita South High School, Shane Kopplin slid across the turf, connecting with a cross sent by Issac Scott and sending the ball behind Washburn Rural goalkeeper Collin Frekking.

That early goal would have been enough to send the Hawks to the state championship game. But a 40-yard free kick sent in by Julien Denis with 21 minutes remaining in the game was the seal that Olathe East needed.

The kick likely would have met the back of the net by itself, but Denis’ teammate, Adrian Blanco, stepped into it and ushered the ball into the goal, giving Denis an assist instead, and Olathe East the 2-0 lead.

The championship match will be 2 p.m. Saturday in Wichita.

Shawnee Mission East falls in Class 6A semifinals

Shawnee Mission East, which had tasted defeat only one time this season and spent time in national polls, will play for third place in Kansas after a 2-0 loss in the Class 6A semifinals Friday.

Joshua DonJuan’s strike in transition, coming 17 minutes into the first half, put the Lancers back on their heels early, and gave Dodge City a 1-0 lead.

“Dodge City is a very, very good team and there’s a reason they’re 20-0,” Shawnee Mission East head coach Jamie Kelly said. “They have just really technical players with great skill who were creating one v. ones all night.”

With 19 minutes remaining in the game, Dodge City got behind the Lancers defense one final time and sealed a 2-0 win.

“We played hard, but we were just really off offensively,” Kelly said. “We didn’t really have any solid chances all night.”

Shawnee Mission East (18-2-1) will play in Saturday’s third-place game, at Wichita South High School, against Washburn Rural.

St. James, Blue Valley Southwest advance in Class 5A

St. James Academy (9-8-3) will play for a Class 5A boys soccer state title Saturday. Behind goals from Luis Alvarado and Zach Flax, the Thunder beat Bishop Carroll 2-0 in Friday’s semifinal match in Emporia.

St. James’ opponent will be Blue Valley Southwest, after the Timberwolves used a wild 4-3 semifinal win over Kapaun Mt. Carmel to advance. Nigel King scored the game-winner with seconds to spare.

The Class 5A final will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in Emporia.

Bishop Miege, Basehor-Linwood will play for Class 4-1A title

With a 5-0 semifinal performance against Louisburg, Bishop Miege advanced to its 10th state championship match in program history. Ethan Martinez, Pedro Alvares (two), Jose Ramirez-Cordero (penalty kick) and Drew Perez all scored.

Basehor-Linwood used a 2-0 win over Andover Central to advance to the Class 4-1A state final alongside Miege. They’ll play for a championship at 2 p.m. Saturday in Topeka.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Olathe East advances to Class 6A boys soccer state title game."