Lionized: Lawrence High scores 1-0 win

photo by: John Young

Lawrence High freshman Anna Chieu (3) celebrates her goal with teammates Maria Duncan, left, and Evann Seratte, center, during their City Showdown soccer match against Free State High on Thursday evening at LHS. The Lions defeated the Firebirds, 1-0.

Thirty minutes after scoring the game-winning goal in the City Showdown, Lawrence High freshman Anna Chieu couldn’t find the words to explain her excitement.

Part of the reason might be the goal itself was hard to believe.

Chieu was in position to receive a pass from sophomore forward Mia Comparato when she fell to the turf a few yards away from the net. Laying on her side, Chieu did a scissors kick to score a goal with 21 minutes left, lifting the Lions to a 1-0 victory on their home field over Free State.

When Chieu saw the ball roll into the back of the net on Thursday, her face turned into a wide smile, she quickly jumped to her feet and she raised both of her hands into the air as she ran toward her teammates. It was her school’s first win in the City Showdown since 2009.

It certainly wasn’t Chieu’s best look at the net. She missed wide right on a breakaway with two minutes left in the first half and she had another shot from inside the 18-yard box stopped by Free State goalkeeper Mika Schrader.

“That’s the thing about forwards, especially Anna, she’ll never quit,” LHS coach Matt McCune said. “She’s very relentless.”

The Lions (5-7), who snapped a seven-game losing streak, were locked in from the opening kick-off. LHS junior forward Skylar Drum flipped a shot off of the right post in the first half. Sophomore Maria Duncan nearly connected on a few crosses with her teammates.

Defensively, the LHS back line of defenders — Duncan, Katelyn McIntyre, Carson Drake, Leslie Ostronic and Evann Seratte — continued to apply pressure on the ball, limiting Free State to four shots on goal.

“We brought it today,” Chieu said.

“Everyone tried really hard and was super aggressive,” senior midfielder Micaela Riley added. “I think that just set the tone for the whole game. We played really well.”

The Firebirds (4-5-1) had their best opportunity to score about 10 minutes before Chieu’s game winner. A few passes through the teeth of Lawrence’s defense from freshman Emma Yackley and sophomore Sydni Beeley set up freshman Brittany Hoffman with plenty of open space in front of her.

Hoffman shook past one defender before firing a shot at the top of the 18-yard box, but Lawrence sophomore goalkeeper Tori Mosakowski was in position for the stop and Drake cleared the ball out of play. McCune said Drake, who started the season at midfielder, has stabilized the team’s defense with her vocal leadership.

In the final minutes, FSHS junior Sabrea Platz nearly snuck behind Lawrence’s defense but a pass was a little out of her reach.

“Our final ball was just not there today,” FSHS coach Kelly Barah said. “It wasn’t for a lack of trying. The girls really tried. But we just could not execute that final ball.”

The Firebirds, playing in their first game in nearly a week, had trouble finding their rhythm on offense but they were sharp on defense against set pieces and kept the Lions away from clean looks at the net.

Against Free State’s defenders — Lauren Johnson, Eyerusalem Zicker, Kate Odgers, Molly Bryant and Tori Karlin — the Lions took nine corner kicks and only one of them resulted on a shot on net.

But the Lions knew they only needed one shot to change the course of the game.

“Sports in general are such a mental thing and confidence, obviously, is tough to get sometimes, especially with the league that we are in,” McCune said. “That win can do wonders for us because they know they can do it.”