‘A special aura’ guides Maize South girls soccer back to high school 5A state semis

For the fourth straight year, the Maize South girls soccer team advanced to the Class 5A state semifinals with a 2-0 win over Andover on Tuesday.

For the second straight year, the Mavericks will enter the state tournament with a perfect 19-0 record.

Maize South is still in search of its first victory at the state tournament, however. Led by a dynamic attack, a creative midfield and a sturdy defense, the undefeated Mavericks will try to end their skid when they play Blue Valley Southwest (16-2) at 4 p.m. Friday at Spring Hill.

“We definitely have felt a very special aura around this group of girls,” Maize South coach Rey Ramirez said. “Every single day, every single game, every single week they have been under an immense amount of pressure because they know what the expectation is and what their potential is. We’ve seen kids break down under that pressure before, so seeing this group overcome that pressure and perform in those important moments is what has our coaching staff so excited about the final four this year.”

Maize South has simply overwhelmed its South Central competition, racking up 129 goals for the No. 1 offense in the state. Arkansas signee Kyndal Ewertz, the program’s all-time leading scorer, has scored a good chunk of those goals, while junior Geni LaMarche, senior Ella Eskridge and sophomores Sydney Stehm and Sydney Hansen have thrived in the attack.

Ewertz and LaMarche, another likely Division I player, give Maize South its most potent attack to date.

“I think all of our fans should feel fortunate to get to watch them play twice a week and see their highlights on social media,” Ramirez said. “But for me, I get to see them play five times a week. While others are fortunate, I feel blessed I get the opportunity to watch them compete and grow and battle and fight and flourish and see them show their creativity day in and day out, Monday through Friday.”

Playing its traditional three-player back line, Maize South has conceded just eight goals on the season (third-fewest in the state) with seniors Cameron Busby and Lexi Bauer, a pair of Newman commits, and an ultra-talented sophomore, Caroline Giroux, extinguishing fires in the back with junior Hadley Ostrander in goal.

But the glue that holds the team together is the work of senior Olivia Oenning and sophomore Avery Fellows, a combination that Ramirez didn’t hesitate to label the best midfield pairing the program has ever had.

“Those two girls do all of the dirty work, the unappreciated work that often goes overlooked,” Ramirez said.

Maize South’s only one-goal game of the season came earlier this month in a 2-1 win over rival Maize, which advanced to the Class 6A semifinals.

Tuesday’s quarterfinal game against Andover, a regular-season rematch of a 5-2 win for Maize South in the season-opener on March 19, also required a gritty performance. Hansen put the Mavericks in front in the 15th minute when she one-timed a cross from Ewertz, then Stehm clinched the victory just before full time with a finish on a corner from Ewertz.

The Mavericks entered last year’s state semifinals with similar dominant performances, but lost 4-0 to St. Thomas Aquinas and 3-0 to St. James Academy. Ramirez believes those past experiences will help Maize South this time around.

“One thing we’ve learned through our experiences in previous years, when it comes to playoff games, it’s not always about playing pretty,” Ramirez said. “Rather, it’s about just finding a way to advance and move on. Whenever you play quality opponents like an Andover, you have to be more pragmatic and less philosophical. I think those past experiences are really going to give us a leg up over previous years.”

Maize, Bishop Carroll, Rose Hill and McPherson advance to girls soccer state

In the 6A bracket, Maize will be the lone area team represented in the state semifinals after the Eagles pulled away for a 4-1 road win over Garden City. Maize (14-4-1) will play Blue Valley West (14-3-1) at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka.

In the other 5A West quarterfinal, Bishop Carroll conceded the game’s opening game, then scored five straight for a convincing 5-1 home victory over Andover Central.

A well-placed free kick from Reese Fleming put the Jaguars ahead just before halftime, but the second half belonged to Carroll. Izzy Mull scored the equalizer just two minutes after halftime, then defender Liza Dugan converted a volley on a corner kick for the go-ahead goal in the 58th minute. From there, Carroll scored three goals in the final 15 minutes, including one from leading scorer Leah Henke.

Carroll (17-2) will face St. Thomas Aquinas (17-1) in Friday’s 6:30 p.m. semifinal in Spring Hill, a rematch of a regular-season game that saw the Saints win 3-2 at home in overtime.

In the 4-1A bracket, Rose Hill punched its ticket to the state semifinals for the first time since 2011 with a 2-0 home victory over Trinity Academy. Blythe Hackney and Ava Markley scored goals within three minutes of one another in the first half, while Abby McCullough registered the shutout in goal for the Rockets.

Rose Hill (13-3-1) will play Bishop Miege (12-7) at 4 p.m. Friday in the 4-1A semifinals at Scheels Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita.

McPherson prevailed in the other West quarterfinal, topping Augusta in a 4-0 road win in a rematch between AV-CTL foes. The Bullpups (13-5-1) will play Topeka Cair Paravel (14-4-1) at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Wichita.

Kansas high school girls soccer quarterfinal scores

Class 6A

Blue Valley Northwest 1, Mill Valley 0 (5-4 PKs)

Blue Valley West 1, Olathe Northwest 0

Maize 4, Garden City 1

Washburn Rural 4, Lawrence Free State 0

Class 5A

Bishop Carroll 5, Andover Central 1

Blue Valley Southwest 7, Topeka Seaman 0

Maize South 2, Andover 0

St. Thomas Aquinas 8, Shawnee Heights 0

Class 4-1A

Bishop Miege 7, Louisburg 0

McPherson 4, Augusta 0

Rose Hill 2, Trinity Academy 0

Topeka Cair Paravel 6, Baldwin 1

KSHSAA girls soccer state semifinal schedule

Class 6A (Hummer Sports Park in Topeka)

Washburn Rural (16-3) vs. Blue Valley Northwest (13-5-1), 4 p.m.

Blue Valley West (14-3-1) vs. Maize (14-4-1), 6:30

Class 5A (Spring Hill)

Maize South (19-0) vs. Blue Valley Southwest (16-2), 4 p.m.

St. Thomas Aquinas (17-1) vs. Bishop Carroll (17-2), 6:30

Class 4-1A (Scheels Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita)

Rose Hill (13-3-1) vs. Bishop Miege (12-7), 4 p.m.

Topeka Cair Paravel (14-4-1) vs. McPherson (13-5-1), 6:30