By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The renaissance of Topeka West boys soccer continued Tuesday as the Chargers defeated De Soto for the first time since joining the United Kansas Conference and claimed a 12th victory that should be important for playoff seeding.
Topeka West sophomore Camilo Garcia (17) scored the game-winning goal in Tuesday's 2-1 UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Chargers followed up their breakthrough 13-3-1 season a year ago – their best in over a decade – by beating De Soto 2-1 Tuesday at Hummer Sports Park to improve to 12-2-2.
“I’m very proud of this team for the way they’re coming together and finishing the regular season strong,” Topeka West coach Josh Kutter said. “We played well as a team. We’re playing together with everyone on the same page, moving in the same direction.”
The two schools deadlocked in a scoreless first half but came out firing in the second. Junior Kameron Ortiz tallied the game’s first goal, which he celebrated with a roundoff backflip, six minutes into the second half.
De Soto tried to swing the momentum at 28:46 when Gabe Carillo blasted a long score to tie the game, 1-1. But Topeka West struck back just two minutes later. Charger sophomore Camilo Garcia took a pass in traffic in front of the De Soto goal and snuck a shot past the Wildcats’ goalkeeper. The Chargers held De Soto scoreless the final 26 minutes to preserve the 2-1 lead.
Kutter said he was not concerned when his team lost the lead.
“We know that we can find the goal. We know that we have offensive players that can create and score. Having that is calming,” Kutter said. “We know that right after a goal is the most dangerous time, when emotions are high. So the key is staying calm, staying collected and having confidence.
“I think our boys controlled the game pretty well. They didn’t get nervous. They knew they could get it back.”
Topeka West senior goalkeeper Gage Kindred Noragon helped the Chargers improve to 12-2-2 with Tuesday's 2-1 UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka West senior goalkeeper Gage Kindred-Noragon reflected on the team’s growth since his freshman year, when wins were scarce.
"It’s very emotional to see how far we’ve come,” Kindred-Noragon said. “Ever since freshman year, it’s just gone up from there. I think we can go to state. I see this team as family. Tons of memories have been made here and I think this team can go far.”
The Chargers now await the release of playoff pairings. They believe they are on an upward trajectory with a lot more soccer to be played.
“Everyone wants to be playing their best soccer moving into postseason,” Kutter said. “That gives us a lot of confidence and these guys set high goals. They’re hungry and they want to do more than we’ve been able to do in a long, long time.”
TOPEKA WEST 2, DE SOTO 1
De Soto (8-7-0) 0 1 — 1
Topeka West (12-2-2) 0 2 — 2
De Soto — Goals: Carillo. Assists: Rice.
Topeka West — Goals: Ortiz, Garcia. Assists: Del Real.
