Piper 4, THS 3 (OT)

Justin Nutter

Asher Huseman scored three goals Thursday against Piper, but the Chieftains fell to the Pirates in overtime.

First half scoring

THS own goal, 27:08

Logan Wilson (PIP), 22:39

Asher Huseman (TON), 7:14

Second half scoring

Jared Davis (PIP), 21:10

Huseman (TON), 20:09

Huseman (TON), 14:43

Overtime scoring

Ashton Box (PIP), 8:47

The Tonganoxie High soccer team welcomed Piper to Chieftain Park on Wednesday for a Kaw Valley League game originally scheduled for more than a month ago. The Chieftains weren’t able to get the win, but the game proved worth the wait.

THS got a hat trick from Asher Huseman and erased a two-goal deficit in the second half, but ultimately fell to the Pirates in overtime, 4-3.

Down 2-1 at the break, the Chieftains (5-10, 0-7 Kaw Valley League) saw the deficit grow when Piper’s Jared Davis broke free down the right side of the field and fired the ball past goalkeeper Alex Kroll with 21:10 left. However, Huseman needed just more than a minute to answer the Pirate score. He split a pair of defenders and received a pass from Logan Williams and punched it in.

Huseman, who now has a team-leading 15 goals in 2013, got his third score off a long feed from Evan Stilgenbauer later in the period. Huseman outran a defender and drew PHS keeper Cameron Walker out of the goal, then skipped the ball into the open net to tie the score at 3-3.

“I think the composure was there and it was great,” coach Brian Kroll said. “(Huseman) finished when he needed to on those couple.”

Alex Kroll came up with several key saves in the closing minutes of the half to force overtime. Piper got several scoring opportunities — most off the feet of Logan Wilson and Ibrahima Bah — but the Chieftain defense tightened up in the second half to give itself a chance after regulation.

Arguably the Pirates’ best scoring chance came on a free kick after Tonganoxie’s Jay Willcutt received a yellow card with 3:04 remaining, but Alex Kroll snagged the ball out of the air before any Piper players had the chance to redirect it.

Despite watching its lead disappear in the second half, Piper needed less than two minutes to end the game in overtime. Alex Kroll, who finished with 21 saves, came up with a pair of stops when the Pirates got near the THS goal, but the Chieftains weren’t able to clear the ball and Ashton Box scored the game-winner with 8:47 left.

“Piper’s won 10 games this year, but just like the rest of our season, we lost by one goal,” Brian Kroll said.

Kroll’s squad is 1-7 in one-goal games this season, including an 0-3 mark in overtime games. That’s nearly a complete reversal from last season, in which the Chieftains were 8-2 in one-goal contests and 1-0 in overtime.

Piper seemingly took control early when it went up 2-0 midway through the first half. The Pirates got on the scoreboard when a shot ricocheted off Tonganoxie’s Colten Weaver and into the net, then Wilson doubled the advantage with 22:39 left.

Huseman nearly answered Wilson’s goal less than 30 seconds later, but his shot attempt sailed over the crossbar. He came up high again off a pass from Stilgenbauer with 7:56 left until halftime, but got another chance with 7:14 remaining. He cashed in on that attempt when the ball bounced off Walker, leaving the net wide open.

“The funny thing is, two of the three that he did get tonight were more work than some of the ones that he missed,” Kroll said.

The Chieftains can end the regular season on a winning note when they host Leavenworth-Immaculata on Thursday for senior night. The junior varsity game will begin at 4:30 p.m. and the varsity game will follow.