THS got a first-half hat trick from Tyler Novotney and two key saves from Alex Kroll in the final seconds of a 3-2 victory. The win was the team’s first against the Lions in five tries under coach Brian Kroll, a Lansing alumnus.

“For me, because it’s where I’m from and because they didn’t even have a soccer program when I went to school, there is tremendous added significance,” said Kroll, who missed the school’s first-ever soccer season by just one year.

The Chieftains (8-3-1, 3-3 Kaw Valley League) struck first early in the opening period when Novotney beat the defense and got a one-on-one opportunity with LHS goalkeeper Lance Schmike. Novotney fired a shot by Schmike and into the left side of the net with 29:45 left in the half.

Asher Huseman nearly doubled the THS advantage about three minutes later, but Schmike blocked the shot attempt. Novotney got another chance midway through the half and scored on a goal nearly identical to his first, making it 2-0 with 23:34 left.

Huseman had another near miss with about 17 minutes left when he drilled a shot off the crossbar. The teams traded possession for the next several minutes before Lansing’s Mikah Kirkendoll came up high on the Lions’ first clean shot attempt of the game.

Novotney capped off his hat trick less than four minutes later. He battled defender Derek Mein all the way to the goal before his shot bounced off Schmike’s hands and into the net.

“He made it very clear that he’s capable of doing things,” Brian Kroll said of Novotney. “They weren’t looking at him. They were looking at Asher to start the game, so (Novotney) made them pay for that.

“The lack of selfishness by everyone out here and the way they all fed off of one another, it was awesome. When it seems like you’ve got more guys on the field than the other team does, that’s when you know things are going well. That definitely was the case (Monday).”

THS seemed poised to take its 3-0 lead into the break, but the Lions got a chance when Tyler Woodcock broke free in the final seconds of the half. Woodcock got a shot by Alex Kroll with just 16.7 seconds remaining.

Brandon Williams nearly answered Woodcock’s score in the opening minutes of the second half, but Schmike punched the shot over the crossbar. A seesaw battle unfolded, as neither team managed to control possession. Lansing made it a one-goal game with 14:27 left when Dylan Hawley lobbed a shot just out of Alex Kroll’s reach.

“We started to get a little over-anxious and tried to be a little bit too creative with certain things,” Brian Kroll said. “They kind of took a couple of our biggest threats out of the game.”

Tonganoxie’s Logan Williams almost scored on two separate occasions with about 10 minutes to go. Williams’ first shot hit the right post and the ball bounced back to him, but his second attempt went off the crossbar and out of bounds.

Lansing’s Roman Shitov and Huseman each missed a goal by inches in the final five minutes, then Lansing got one more chance after a Chieftain foul set up a Mein free kick with eight seconds left. Alex Kroll blocked a shot by Shitov after the kick, but the ball got behind him with time running out. Another Lansing player tried to tap the ball into the net, but Alex Kroll stopped it just inches from the line as the clock hit zero.

The Chieftains will put their four-game win streak on the line at 4 p.m. Thursday at home when they continue Kaw Valley League action against Bishop Ward. THS went 1-2 in three meetings with the Cyclones last season.