'Set piece Saturday': How Washburn Rural boys soccer won the regional title

TOPEKA — Every Saturday, Washburn Rural focuses on one aspect of their game: Set pieces.

Defending corners, attacking corners along with the same tactics on free kicks. These are the places that the Junior Blues want to dominate and that is why they dedicate a full practice to them, which is why they call it "Set piece Saturday."

“Early morning practice, we only work on set pieces,” Griffin Heinen said with a smile. “Over the past three or four games, we have scored early off set pieces. It just changes the game right away.”

Three of Washburn Rural’s four goals came from a set piece on Thursday night. The four goals were good enough to secure the regional championship victory by a score of 4-1 over Lawrence Free State.

In the first five minutes, Free State had a corner and looked to get on top, but it was well defended from the Junior Blues and cleared successfully towards midfield. That is where Devon Rutschmann picked up the ball and drove towards the goal. He went around the center backs with quick, soft touches. He ended the counter-attack with a perfectly slotted shot to give Washburn Rural the 1-0 lead early in the game.

Washburn Rural doubled their lead in the 14th minute off of another set piece. This time it was from its own corner. Washburn Rural’s Andrew Moore and a Firebird tussled for the ball near the corner flag which went off of the visitor. It was a perfect combination of hustle and precision from Moore which gave the Junior Blues another chance to show off their set-piece prowess.

Dylan Willingham delivered a gorgeous cross towards the near post, which Draden Chooncharoen put into the goal to give the home team a 2-0 lead. Washburn Rural scored their third goal just before halftime as Liam Morrison played a perfectly weighted through ball past the backline and into the stride of Rutschmann. He scored the goal for the brace as he wheeled off in celebration. The Junior Blues were oozing with confidence at the halftime break.

“This team has so much passion for the sport, we have dudes that have won national titles in club. Everyone is best friends with each other,” Rutschmann described. “I think the want for that state title is just keeping the fire to the flames.”

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Free State nicked their only goal of the game inside the first 10 minutes of the second half. It came off of their own corner as they committed bodies inside the 6-yard box and scored to cut Washburn Rural’s lead.

Less than 10 minutes later, the Junior Blues delivered the final blow of the game and wouldn't you know it, the goal came from a set piece. Willingham delivered a sublime corner kick to the middle of the box where Heinen delivered a towering header and made the net ripple.

“It was electric,” Heinen said. “It was just one of those plays that we run and I was happy to finish on it.”

Washburn Rural’s victory in the biggest game of the season has shown head coach Brian Hensyel how much his team has grown. It has all started in the defensive half, according to him. In their last 480 minutes, the Junior Blues have allowed just three goals.

“The defense has been phenomenal,” Hensyel said. “Our leaders have become great leaders. The seniors have become better and better and our inexperienced guys have become better players.”

Washburn Rural will host the Class 6A state quarterfinal against Garden City (12-4-2) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night. The winner moves to the state semifinals.

Shawnee Heights advances

No. 8 Shawnee Heights (10-7-1) went on the road and upset No. 1 Piper (14-2) in the Class 5A regional championship. The game finished in a 1-1 draw with the Thunderbirds winning in penalty kicks 5-4 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. You can reach him at Lkeating@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Washburn Rural boys soccer beats Lawrence Free State to win regional