LHS soccer plays to 0-0 draw

Lawrence High’s boys soccer players were proud of their play against Olathe Northwest on Tuesday but won’t have much to show for it.

The Lions couldn’t find the back of the net on their nine shots on goal and battled to a 0-0 draw at LHS.

“We came out, gave it our all,” junior defenseman Brennan Davies said. “That’s a team we haven’t beat in multiple years, so it’s good to at least come out with a draw, and playing 100 minutes is quite something.”

Lawrence’s back line of defenders — Davies, junior Sam Dykes, senior Ellis Springe and senior Matt Mantooth — used their strength and speed to frustrate Olathe Northwest forwards. The Ravens were held to just six shots on net, despite taking nine corner kicks and holding the ball on their third of the field for much of the second half.

“I think that’s honestly our strong suit right now,” Davies said. “We’ve just got to work on the attacking. Defense we can’t really ask much more.”

What went through LHS defensemen’s minds when Ravens’ attackers were rushing forward in one-on-one situations?

“Personally, I just don’t want to be the one to make the big mistake,” Dykes said.

Senior goalkeeper Andrew Ornburn had six saves, including a diving stop in the first half and another save with three minutes remaining in overtime on a strike just outside of the 18-yard box.

“We had some really good play out of Brennan,” Ornburn said. “He was really using his right side to get up on the attack. We played pretty well, locked down. Ellis and Sam kept the middle pretty simple and locked down, and Matt had a pretty good game, too.”

Offensively, senior forward Jakob Burdett had a big strike that was deflected just above the net in the first half. Senior midfielders Sam Stephens and Alex Mwithiga also created a few opportunities in the second half and overtime.

“It’s better than a loss,” Ornburn said. “We still get a point, and in the Sunflower League, you take anything you can get. We learned that from last year.”