Miege strikes fast, wins Kansas 4-1A state soccer title
Bishop Miege removed all the drama early in the Kansas 4-1A state girls soccer championship game Saturday.
The Stags scoring three times in the first half of a 4-0 win against Wichita Trinity Academy.
Miege took an early lead on Harper Thompson’s goal in the 14th minute.
With a senior-laden back line and keeper Zoey Slettehaugh, that’s all the offense Miege needed to secure its first championship since 2003.
“We ran out of gas after the first 10 minutes,” Trinity copach mark Brooks said. “They were more hungry than us, and I can’t blame them. Seriously, they’ve been (to state) three times in a row, and had been knocked out. That’s a testament to their program.”
Ally Henderson, who scored twice for Trinity on Friday, showed off some nice footwork to get free in the penalty box in the 18th minute, but her shot on goal was stopped by Slettehaugh, and Miege zoned in on the Trinity junior the rest of the way.
“I watched Trinity play three times this season just to be ready in case we played them here,” Miege coach Nate Huppe said. “The girls knew what we needed to do, and they did it. (Henderson) is an absolute stud, and we had to shadow her.”
Miege senior Hannah Belfield headed in a corner kick with 6:16 left before halftime, and less than 2 minutes later, freshman Elena Eckwall lofted a shot from the far left side of the field over keeper Alexandria Bearup’s head for a 3-0 lead.
Both teams were stonewalled several times in the second half by solid goalkeeping, but another Rometti corner led to Miege’s fourth goal when Bearup got stuck in a mass of people in the box, allowing senior Maggie Mannebach to knock it in.
McPherson 2, De Soto 1, OT
Anna Schwindt headed in Alayna Wallace’s perfectly-placed corner kick 2:24 into overtime, giving McPherson a victory in the third-place game.
Tanith Beal scored for De Soto in the 28th minute, and the Wildcats led until McPherson got on the board with 7:06 left in regulation.
Heidi Myers put a long shot into the top of the net to force overtime.
This story was originally published May 28, 2016 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Miege strikes fast, wins Kansas 4-1A state soccer title."