That, along with three goals from senior captain Logan Williams propelled Tonganoxie (9-6) to a 5-0 victory against Bishop Ward on Senior Night.

“Considering we played them to a 3-2 win earlier this season after trailing 2-0 at halftime, it was much better,” Kroll said of his team’s result on Monday. “It was a good night.”

Along with Williams’ hat trick, which Kroll said wasn’t anything different than he’s seen from his captain all season, senior Gage Sommer and junior Bowan Jones scored the other two goals for Tonganoxie.

Jones also assisted on Williams’ first goal, which was the only goal of the first half. Tonganoxie’s remaining four goals all came in the second half.

After he scored his first goal just five minutes into the game, Williams controlled the rest of the game and constantly set his teammates up for opportunities on goal.

“We could have easily put that game away in the first half,” Kroll said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the net. It could have easily been 14 or 15 to nothing at halftime.”

Part of the reason the Chieftains were able to get so many shots off was Kroll’s decision to play Caldwell in the field. However, the decision to trust Martin in the net proved to be just as big for Tonganoxie.

Martin had two diving saves in the first five minutes that prevented Bishop Ward from grabbing momentum early. The most impressive play of the night came midway through the second half when Martin saved a Bishop Ward penalty kick that helped preserve a shutout for Tonganoxie.

“It’s the single most difficult thing in sports to save a penalty kick,” Kroll said. “He just so happened to take a step to the right, make the guy think the shot was open and dove. He totally baited that guy, but he still had to react.”

Moments after Kroll subbed Caldwell in, he converted a corner kick in what appeared to be the Chieftains’ first goal of the game. However, the officials said the ball traveled out of bounds and then back in and waived off the goal.

Still, Kroll said Caldwell’s presence and activity in the field made a difference, and may be worth not having him in the net going forward.

Tonganoxie also dominated possession, which Kroll said was key for a defense that has been getting beat up as of late.

“Our midfield hasn’t been checking back and helping the defense,” Kroll said. “But tonight, the midfield was staying back and keeping the defense from having to work too hard.”

Tonganoxie will conclude its regular season at 4 p.m. today at Immaculata.