By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
An outstanding regular season gave Washburn Rural soccer a favorable homefield advantage for the Junior Blues' Class 6A playoff opener Tuesday night.
Washburn Rural soccer coach Brian Hensyel talks to his team after Tuesday's 10-0 regional romp past Campus in the rain at McElroy Field. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And Rural, the No. 2 West seed, took took full advantage, rolling to 10-0 regional win on a rainy, windy night at McElroy Field in a game that was stopped at halftime due to the 10-goal spread rule.
"We got exactly what we wanted, which was homefield advantage and the best seed possible to give yourself the best road, and then you've got to take advantage of it,'' Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel said. "Our guys came out focused, even with the weather, and we were able to play everybody and rest some guys and we'll be ready to go Thursday night.''
It took Washburn Rural, now 16-1, just 2 minutes, 31 seconds to score the only goal it would need, with sophomore Draden Chooncharoen scoring off an assist from sophomore Drew Moore.
Sophomore Dylan Willingham scored the first of his two goals of the night at the 36:12 mark off a pass from senior Devon Rutschmann and Rutschmann made it a 3-0 contest just 9:05 into the game off an assist from senior Griffin Heinen.
Senior Griffin Heinen (9), who had a pair of assists, and Washburn Rural soccer advanced to Thursday's Class 6A regional final with Tuesday's 10-0 win over Campus. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Junior Blues turned the game into a runaway from that point on, with Rural adding goals from Moore (Heinen assist), Willingham (Chooncharoen assist), senior Lawsen Lobatos-Dick (unassisted), senior Tanner Kasprzyk (Lobatos-Dick assist), junior Pierce Cannon (freshman Brodye Kocher-Munoz assist), sophomore Brandon Hamilton (unassisted) and junior Matthew Houser (junior Ryder Nikkel assist).
Houser's goal with 9:59 remaining gave the Junior Blues their 10-goal spread and Hensyel's team showed good sportsmanship while not attempting to score the rest of the way.
Seniors Ethan Uhlrig and Brayden Lehnherr combined for the shutout in goal.
Washburn Rural will be back at home Thursday for a 6 p.m. regional final against Free State (10-5-1), a 3-1 winner over Manhattan Tuesday night..
"We'll have to be really good on Thursday,'' Hensyel said.
WASHBURN RURAL 10, CAMPUS 0
Campus (5-12-0) 0 x -- 0
Washburn Rural (16-1-0) 10 x -- 10
Washburn Rural -- Goals: Dylan Willingham 2, Draden Chooncharoen, Devon Rutschmann, Drew Moore, Lawsen Lobatos-Dick, Tanner Kasprzyk, Pierce Cannon, Brandon Hamilton, Matthew Houser. Assists: Griffin Heinen 2, Drew Moore, Devon Rutschmann, Draden Chooncharoen, Lawsen Labatos-Dick, Brodye Kocher-Munoz, Ryder Nikkel. Shutout: Ethan Uhlrig, Brayden Lehnherr.
Other city results:
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 2, BONNER SPRINGS 1 -- Shawnee Heights, which improved to 9-7-1, advanced to a Class 5A regional with a 2-1 win over Bonner Springs Tuesday night at the Bettis Family Sports Complex.
Seniors Jack Phillips and Jake Emmons scored goals for Shawnee Heights.
The T-Birds will play at Piper Thursday night.
LIBERAL 3, TOPEKA HIGH 2 (OT) -- Topeka High put up a fight on the road Tuesday night before Liberal escaped with a 3-2 overtime win over the Trojans to advance to a Class 6A regional final on Thursday.
Liberal improved to 10-4-3 while Topeka High ended its season 7-10-0. Liberal will face Derby (15-2-0) at Derby Thursday night.
KC-SUMNER ACADEMY 11, HIGHLAND PARK 1 -- Highland Park ended its season 4-13-0 after an 11-1 road loss Tuesday in a Class 5A regional contest.
EMPORIA 3, SEAMAN 1 -- Emporia moved on to the Class 5A regional finals after a 3-1 home win over Seaman Tuesday night.
Emporia improved to 10-7-0 while Seaman ended its season 7-9-1.
SALINA SOUTH 8, TOPEKA WEST 0 -- Sallina South improved to 12-5-0 on the season with Tuesday's 8-0 home Class 5A regional victory over Topeka West.
The Chargers finished their season 7-10-0 while Salina South advanced to a 5A regional final.
WICHITA CLASSICAL 3, HAYDEN 2 -- Wichita Classical outlasted Hayden for a 3-2 Class 4A-1A regional win Tuesday night in Wichita.
Wichita Classical, which will play at 14-3-0 Buhler Thursday night, improved to 9-8-0 while Hayden ended its season 6-8-3.
INDEPENDENCE 10, CAIR PARAVEL LATIN 1 -- Independence improved to 11-5-1 with a 10-1 home Class 4A-1A regional victory over Cair Paravel Latin Tuesday.
Cair Paravel ended its season 4-8-0.
