Olathe North rips LHS, 7-0

It was raining goals for Olathe North long before it started raining in Lawrence High’s girls soccer game Tuesday night.

The Eagles scored three times in the opening 10 minutes, soaring over the Lions, 7-0, at the Youth Sports Inc. fields.

“I don’t think we came out really prepared to a play an athletic team like that,” LHS coach Keith Nelson said.

Sophomore Lindsay Vaught got things going for the Eagles (7-0) with a lightning strike from short range in the 33rd minute. Vaught enjoyed scoring so much, she later scored three more goals.

After Olathe North’s Lauren Phillips chipped a ball into the top half of the Lawrence goal, the Eagles led 2-0 in the 31st minute.

Vaught ripped the ball past Lawrence junior keeper Shannon Fisher four minutes later off of a pass from senior Dyana Lawrence for a 3-0 lead.

The Lions (0-5-1) had several opportunities to score from close range thanks to a number of corner kicks and drives down the sideline, but their efforts were to no avail.

More importantly, they were able to put the defensive clamps on the Eagles later in the half after the three-goal onslaught.

“After that we got our legs under us and played good soccer,” Nelson said.

With four minutes left in the first half, the Eagles found the net once again when freshman Caitlin Powell tipped the ball in off a teammate’s kick from the right corner.

The start of the rain and the second half nearly occurred simultaneously, but the slippery conditions weren’t enough to keep Olathe North from scoring a minute into the half off a quick spin kick by sophomore Hazel Cox.

Vaught closed out the scoring for the Eagles with the game’s last two goals, one coming off a penalty kick in the 13th minute and the other from a crisp short kick from close range in the eighth minute.

Despite the shutout, Nelson said he still was pleased with how his team played. The Lions just got outplayed by a quicker bunch, he said.

“I can’t fault their effort. We’re giving all we got,” Nelson said. “They were just faster than us and that’s all there was to it.”

The Lions will play host Friday to Topeka Washburn Rural.