Soccer takes down Shawnee

Jonah Evarts, Sports Editor

The Manhattan High boys soccer team won its third game in overtime in its first five games on Tuesday, defeating Shawnee Heights 2-1. This came off the back of another golden goal, this time from a penalty kick by senior Nate Awbrey.

The Indians had plenty of opportunities to avoid this, outshooting Shawnee 21-4. Despite their strong starting record of 4-0-1, they’d like to get more comfortable moving forward.

“We want to put ourselves in situations where we feel very in control, and sometimes going into overtime makes everything feel frantic,” Awbrey said.

With a win in their first Centennial League game, they’ve extended their school record for the best start to a season in soccer. They don’t feel the pressure from this; instead they’ve decided to build on it.

“It feels good,” Awbrey said. “It’s always good to get off to a good start in league and also to do so by beating a quality opponent. It feels good also to keep the win streak going, and we want to continue with that.”

They haven’t grown complacent with just winning, they want to reach a higher standard each game, and not be on the wire going into overtime every game.

“We have plenty of shots each game, but we don’t put them in the back of the net,” senior Keegan Taylor said. “I think that winning our first Centennial League game in OT shows that we won’t fold under pressure though.”

The boys are looking complete, but they want to stay competitive in between games.

“[The biggest factor] is how well we practice,” Taylor said. “We have a deep team, and we need the backups to fight for starting spots in practice so we continue to get better every day.”

The team still has its hardest games ahead of it, and preparation and focus have become key in not falling behind early on.

“[We] need to keep an edge, and make sure we don’t lose focus on the goals we’ve set.” Awbrey said.

This will be important as they face off against Seaman on Tuesday, who are undefeated, and Washburn on Thursday, who are 4-1.