Aquinas, Miege add to trophy cases with state championships in boys high school soccer
Two Kansas City soccer powerhouses added to their championship collection on Saturday with Kansas boys soccer high school titles.
St. Thomas Aquinas rolled to its 17th state title in program history and first since 2014 with an 8-1 drubbing of Maize in the Class 5A championship game at Spring Hill, while Bishop Miege won its fifth straight Class 4-1A title with a 3-1 victory over Wichita Trinity Academy at Wichita’s Stryker Soccer Complex.
Dodge City completed a perfect season at 20-0-0 with a 3-0 victory over Olathe East (13-6) in the Class 6A finale at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka.
“We had a little bit of a drought,” Aquinas coach Craig Ewing said. “Our guys were excited to get the trophy back to Aquinas. We have a great senior class with great leadership and I really admire the way the boys worked this season. Their theme was strictly business, and that’s the way they handled themselves today. And now they get to celebrate like crazy.”
In order to reclaim its top spot in 5A, Aquinas (15-3-3) perhaps had its toughest game in the first round of the playoffs against three-time defending state champion Blue Valley Southwest. After the Saints won that game 3-1, Ewing said the confidence was established for this group to bring home the state trophy.
On Saturday, the rout was on early as Ethan Young and Dennis White both scored in the first five minutes of the game and Aquinas took a 6-0 lead by halftime. The Saints were once again led by an outstanding defense captained by senior centerback Mitchell Farrar and supported by a trio of seniors in Zayveon Russell, Max Bryson and Drew Welch.
“Defense wins championships and our defense this season was nearly impenetrable,” Ewing said. “They always gave us that advantage.
“This was just a crazy year and this was one that I’m going to remember forever.”
Maize finished the season 17-3-1. Maize senior Tanner Prophet, who netted the game-winning penalty kick for a wild shootout victory over Andover Central in Friday’s semifinals, scored his team’s only goal Saturday.
The 4-1A championship game between Miege and Trinity was a rematch of last season’s title game, also won by the Stags, and by the same score. The teams had played to a 1-1 draw in the regular season a month ago.
“We knew if we both got back to the final that it would be a heck of a game,” Miege coach Nate Huppe said. “And that’s how it played out. We knew it was going to be even harder to defend a title, let alone trying to defend four, so these boys deserve everything that they get.”
But this time, much as they had a year ago in the final, the Stags dominated the run of play. Miege led 2-0 by halftime — Xander Christian scored the first goal after a rebound off the post, and Mauricio Salas scored from the spot after a hand ball by Trinity in the box.
Miege tacked on a third goal early in the second half when Trinity attempted to clear a threatening free kick and instead headed the ball into its own goal. The Knights clawed one back in the 62nd minute when senior Jon Heuer powered a header into the back of the net from a corner.
“We always have that pressure to win every year, but it’s a good pressure,” Miege senior Cole Reel said. “This is a special program because it’s all about a brotherhood. The coaches all love us and we love all of them and that’s what carries us through every game.”
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 5:22 PM.