Tonganoxie, the No. 7 seed in the East Region, won its regional opener against No. 10 Chanute, thanks in part to a hat trick from Lukas Parizek. The senior scored three goals for the Chieftains, though the Comets scored first.

Tonganoxie had an apparent goal with 13:24 left in the first half, but the Chieftains were called offsides. THS finally was able to get the equalizer later in the first half thanks to a penalty kick from Parizek. He scored twice more and freshman Silas Kirchoff added another goal as THS improved to 10-6-1. Chanute ended its season at 6-9-2.

THS took 29 shots against Chanute, with Parizek having 10 of them. Fellow senior Daniel Zesati had seven, sophomore Gavin Shupe four and junior Brenan Kuzmic three. Junior Trent Barnes, Shupe and Parizek all had assists in the victory, while Jackson McWilliams had nine saves while allowing a goal against the Comets.

Co-coaches Mandi Duggan and Jon Ordnorff both said after the match that the team could have played better against Chanute, but that some adversity against the Comets would help the team as it tries to keep advancing in the postseason.

Duggan said she “didn’t want a wake-up call” for the team, but it also shows THS players the importance of starting strong with tough opponents potentially looming.

Tonganoxie will play in a Class 4-3-2-1A regional final Thursday. The Chieftains will play No. 2 Baldwin (12-4-1), as the Bulldogs defeated No. 15 Maranatha Christian Academy (1-13-1) by a 4-0 score Tuesday in Baldwin City. The match is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Baker University field at Liston Stadium.

THS dropped a hard-fought match Oct. 7 to Baldwin at home. The Bulldogs won, 1-0.