Miege 3, THS 0

Justin Nutter

Jay Willcutt and the Tonganoxie High soccer team saw their season end Tuesday with a 3-0 loss to Bishop Miege in the state quarterfinals.

Second half scoring

Thomas Pace (BM), 39:44

Marcos Souza-Silva (BM), 22:29

Christian Foster (BM), 9:28

With Tonganoxie High already down two goals in the second half, an errant shot by Asher Huseman provoked a message from coach Brian Kroll on the sideline:

“That’s been your best look all day!”

Unfortunately for the Chieftains, it was just that kind of game.

THS allowed three second-half goals and never managed to break through on offense in a 3-0 loss to Bishop Miege in Class 4-1A state quarterfinal action on Tuesday.

The Chieftains (14-4-1) staved off several scoring opportunities by the Stags (13-4-2) to keep the game tied at the break. Miege didn’t remain scoreless for long in the second half, though, as Thomas Pace scored just 16 seconds after the opening whistle.

Pace took a pass from Christian Foster and fired a shot toward the Chieftain goal. The ball bounced off the left post and THS goalkeeper Alex Kroll before finding its way into the back of the net.

“That was the tale of the tape for how our night went,” Brian Kroll said. “We did not catch one break with anything that we could even remotely control.”

The Miege defense didn’t allow Tonganoxie to create any scoring chances on the other side of the field, as nearly every pass into Stag territory was cleared by the defense. Miege doubled its advantage midway through the half when Marcos Souza-Silva headed a pass from a teammate into the goal, making it 2-0 with 22:29 left.

Perhaps the Chieftains’ best chance of the second half came when Huseman took the ball to the right corner about three minutes later. He crossed the ball in front of the net, but it was intercepted by Stag keeper West Gajan.

Foster provided the final score of the night with 9:28 to go. He weaved his way around a defender to give himself a look, and his shot went off Alex Kroll’s hands. Following the score, Brian Kroll replaced the starters with reserves.

Miege nearly went in front several times in the first half, but just missed the mark on multiple shot attempts. Tonganoxie’s Jay Willcutt got a look about 18 minutes in, but couldn’t get the ball by Gajan. The Stags controlled the rest of the half, never allowing the Chieftains to get into a rhythm offensively.

“Defensively, they were able to respect our speed enough that we clearly had to hit the ball over them in order to have anything created,” Brian Kroll said. “We had to go over them and we just couldn’t get the ball over them.”

The loss closes out a season in which THS recorded the second-most wins in program history. The state quarterfinal appearance was the team’s third in four seasons.

Tuesday marked the end of the road for seven seniors, including captains Garrett Martin and Kyle Caldwell, as well as Huseman, who became the team’s all-time leading scorer earlier this season. Huseman had 63 goals in just three seasons, including a team-leading 26 in his senior campaign. He also recently tied 2012 grad Matt Saathoff and 2013 grad Evan Stilgenbauer for most career wins with 37.

Brian Kroll will have several starting roles to fill next fall, but returns a slew of underclassmen with at least one full season of varsity experience, including several freshmen from this year’s squad.

“If (Tuesday’s loss) does anything at all, hopefully it will leave that really rotten taste in their mouths,” he said. “It’s good for the future because those kids now know it’s no nonsense and it needs to be no nonsense all the time.”

With the win, Miege advances to the 4-1A state semifinals, set for Friday at David Jaynes Stadium in Bonner Springs.