Maize South girls soccer stays undefeated entering Kansas high school state semifinals

The undefeated season of the Maize South girls soccer team rolled on in Tuesday’s Class 5A quarterfinal cross-town match against Maize.

The game was briefly tied, but the Mavericks’ explosive offense was once again too much for their opposition to handle in a 4-1 home victory to punch their ticket back to the 5A state semifinals with a perfect 19-0 record.

Ella Eskridge gave Maize South the early lead with the game’s first goal, but Maize sophomore Aleksah Moreno buried the equalizer early in the second half to raise the stakes. As the Mavericks have done all season, they responded.

Maize South freshman Sydney Hansen won a 1-on-1 battle in the midfield, then hammered home a shot from the edge of the box to beat the goalkeeper for a 2-1 lead. Sydney Stehm went top shelf not long after, then scoring star Kyndal Ewertz finished off the rally by easily converting a 1-on-1 in the box late in the game.

A couple miles away in the other 5A quarterfinal, Bishop Carroll leaned on its stingy defense once again to register a 1-0 victory over Andover Central. The lone goal of the game was scored 14 minutes after halftime by Darby Howard, who finished a cross from Leah Henke in the box.

The matchups in the Class 5A state semifinals on Friday at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka will feature Maize South (19-0) playing St. Thomas Aquinas (16-2-1) at 5 p.m., followed by St. James Academy (17-2) playing Bishop Carroll (18-1) at 7 p.m.

Trinity Academy is headed back to the Class 4-1A state semifinals, courtesy of a 2-1 road win at Circle. The Knights improved to 10-8 this season and will face Baldwin (14-5) in Friday’s semifinals, while the Thunderbirds, playing without injured star Milan Hunter, wrapped up a 14-win season.

In another 4-1A quarterfinal, McPherson lost a 2-1 heartbreaker in double overtime to Topeka Hayden. The Bullpups (14-5) had won the regular-season matchup and scored first on Tuesday, but Hayden rallied for the equalizer in the second half and then scored the game-winner in the second overtime.

The other City League team still alive, Wichita Northwest, lost a 5-1 match on the road to Washburn Rural to conclude a 12-win season with its second straight 6A quarterfinal appearance.