After a year-long delay, juggernaut BV West resumes title hunt in Kansas girls soccer

Pulling up to an empty Heritage Park with a bundle of T-shirts and blankets, members of the 2020 Blue Valley West girls high school soccer team refused to let their seniors leave unnoticed.

This was during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic — the Class of 2020 hadn’t yet graduated and the lockdown was only a couple of months old at the time. But all spring sports had been canceled in Kansas, including girls’ soccer.

That meant members of the senior class at West, like others around the nation, was unable to compete in its final year of high school. And perhaps even more heartbreaking the Jaguars, they were unable to compete for a fourth straight Kansas Class 6A state championship, an accomplishment that could’ve put the bow on a perfect high school career.

But that didn’t mean the seniors would just fade away to adulthood, unrecognized for their accomplishments. To signal their appreciation for the graduating seniors, the rest of the team organized a socially distanced senior night at Heritage Park.

The girls made shirts and blankets for the seniors and prepared a walkout ceremony and speeches.

“It was very emotional,” BV West senior Liv Ensley, then a junior, said. “It really affected them more than any of us.”

Those emotions are compelling Ensley and the rest of the BV West team to push for that fourth consecutive championship this spring. Ensley is one of three team captains as the Jaguars look to continue their dominance over the rest of the Kansas soccer landscape.

It won’t be easy. West enters the season with a vastly unknown and untested squad. Many of the players who helped win those first three state titles have now either graduated or didn’t play much at the time.

Ensley was one of the few players who were underclassmen with the team during the second and third state titles. But the last time she pulled on a West jersey was almost two years ago, when she was just a sophomore.

“It is definitely very weird, especially since everyone is new,” Ensley said.

Senior captain Lindsey Kuhlmann has also been with the team since her freshman year. But some of the drills had slipped her memory when practices resumed two weeks ago.

“It is odd being back because I haven’t been coached under Coach (Alex) Aiman in two years,” Kuhlmann said. “I guess going back, I’ve gotten more used to club now, so going back into high school has been a little odd because the rules are different, going to school is different, your school friends can come and see you.”

It’s so drastic that the club’s third captain, Elizabeth Pujado, has never even played a game for West. She transferred in from South Dakota during her junior year but never had a chance to play because of the pandemic.

“It sounds crazy, but one of our captains is a player I don’t really know her best position and what she can offer to help the team,” Aiman said. “She’s got great character, so that’s what I like about her.”

Through the challenges, Aiman is aiming to keep the team strong and together using the Bushido Code — a set of ancient samurai principles stressing around loyalty, honor and similar virtues.

“It’s not cutting corners — ‘Go all the way to the end line,’” he explained. “We say, ‘Run around the field,’ (and) we literally run around the field — we don’t cut the corners.

“First to practice, last to leave, help pick up the balls and get the cones, lead by example.”

He’s looking to his captains to set the example for newer players on the team.

Ensley remembers the fear mixed with admiration she felt two years ago toward West’s seniors and captains. Because of how they led, she wanted to follow their example.

“Now that we’re seniors and captain, I feel like we have to set a good example for the rest of the team by not messing around, being our best at all times,” she said. “The younger girls always look up to the captains. So I feel like when we’re going 110%, they’ll try to go 110% to follow us.”

Aiman figures it will take about three games to determine West’s best formation and lineup. A season-opening 2-0 victory over St. James Thursday night was a start in the right direction.

“We’ve always been known as West: We win state, we’re good,” Kuhlmann said. “But these other schools are starting to get that title, too. So I am just a little bit worried for our team, but with our chemistry and Aiman and making everything so much fun, I think we’ll have a pretty good shot.”

This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 4:56 PM.