Getting the victory on Senior Day is pretty sweet.

But having it come in a shutout made it that much better for Lawrence High’s girls soccer seniors Kaela Severa, Alyson Lunte, Kathleen Hermesch and Madison Bertrand.

“We had a big crowd, which we haven’t had all year, and we just wanted to show them that we’ve improved over the season,” Bertrand said following the Lions’ 4-0 victory over Topeka High on Friday at the Youth Sports, Inc. fields. “We just came out and put the team away in scoring four goals. So it just made the day so exciting.”

Bertrand was behind the fast start for the Lions, scoring Lawrence’s first goal less than four minutes into the game.

Fifteen minutes following the opening goal, Bertrand outran a Trojans defender and beat the goalkeeper one-on-one to put LHS up 2-0 going into halftime.

“With being a senior, I just wanted to get my team into the game and get them pumped up,” Bertrand said. “So I just put it all out there and got a couple of goals. And I think that really got us pumped up and ready.”

It was an impressive offensive showing for a senior who started the season with more of a defensive mind-set.

“Madison has been the consummate coach’s player this year,” LHS soccer coach Matt Anderson said. “Basically, with so many young people in the back line that I need to develop, I wasn’t able to get her up in the front until late in the season. So now for her to come up and get those goals is very sweet. It basically just kind of makes my formula make sense that it’s working, and we’re hopefully peaking at the right time.”

Hermesch joined in on the scoring just four minutes into the second half.

A cross by junior Megan Andrews glanced off the fingertips of the Topeka goalkeeper and landed right in front of Hermesch, who was staring down an empty net.

“I just tried to keep on running and let the ball hit my body,” Hermesch said. “I didn’t want to put a foot on it because if anything it probably would have gone over the goal. So I just tried to run through it, and it just went on in – thank goodness. But that was just great. It was wonderful to just help get in there and finally be on the other end of a 4-0 game.”

Anderson caught a glimpse of the future of his program in the final minute when sophomore Kristy Gerard put away a corner kick from fellow sophomore Olivia Dykes.

“Olivia has a very strong foot and sent it to another sophomore, Kristy Gerard, and it was just a great play that Kristy made on the volley,” Anderson said. “The ball caused a lot of trouble because it was at the right height and it was wide enough, wasn’t right on frame to make it difficult for the goalie. So I was very proud of that combination.”