THS jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half against Kansas City Christian, only to have the Panthers respond with two goals of their own before halftime at the Johnson County Community College soccer complex.

The Chieftains, though, were able to jump back ahead in the second half and never looked back.

THS junior Brenan Kuzmic scored the first goal of the season just 2 minutes into the match. The Panthers were whistled for a foul in the box. Kuzmic connected and the Chieftains were up, 1-0. Kuzmic added another goal with a free kick and Tonganoxie went up, 2-0, with about 24 minutes left in the first half.

KCC got on the board with 19 minutes left in the first half. THS sophomore goalie Jackson McWilliams made a save, but the Panthers scored on the putback.

The Panthers found the net again with an equalizer with seven minutes left before intermission.

With 25:40 left to play in the second half, senior Daniel Zesati found fellow senior Lukas Parizek, who connected for the go-ahead goal.

With 2:19 left in the match, Kuzmic scored another goal thanks to an assist from Zesati.

Sophomore Aiden Van Middlesworth tacked on the fifth goal on a breakaway just before the final horn sounded.

Tonganoxie improved to 1-0 on the season.

The Chieftains will take on the five-time defending state champion Bishop Miege Stags Tuesday at Miege’s home stadium in Roeland Park. The match starts at 6:30 p.m.

Tonganoxie will be home later next week when THS takes on Maur Hill-Mount Academy at 6 p.m. Sept. 2 at Beatty Field.

The first Frontier League match of the season is Sept. 7 at home against Spring Hill.