Lawrence High soccer blanks Manhattan, 2-0, in opener

photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence Lions player Cain Scott (7) races past a Manhattan defender Friday night, August 26, 2016.

After not scoring in the first four games of the 2015 campaign, Lawrence High’s boys soccer team wasted little time getting on the board against Manhattan Friday in its season opener at LHS.

Senior Husam Aldamen scored on a header off of a corner kick from senior Parker King in the seventh minute, and senior Cain Scott found the back of the net in the 15th to give the Lions a 2-0 victory over the Indians.

“We came out with a lot of energy. Maybe even too much,” Lawrence High coach Mike Murphy said. “We almost seemed to kind of gasp ourselves out. When you get up two goals early, usually you can kind of hunker down and hold that lead, and we did, which was good.”

The Lions dictated the pace early as they attempted four corner kicks in the first 11 minutes. Corner kicks and set pieces in general were something that Aldamen and King worked on a lot over the summer, and the seniors were glad to reap the benefits of the extra time they spent on the pitch.

“We’d keep crossing for like a half an hour to 45 minutes. We just keep practicing,” Aldamen said. “All I figured out is that I just got to be aggressive and I just always got to run for the ball. That’s what I did. I got a chance, and I took it.”

Murphy has high hopes for what the Lions can do offensively this season with his senior-heavy attacking third. Scott said the special connection he has built over the years with fellow senior Ebrahim Diagne was crucial in helping the Lions add to their lead.

“Me and Ebra actually play club soccer together, so we have a personal relationship,” Scott said. “I point one way, and he knows to put the ball there and that’s where I’ll be. It’s just understanding and chemistry, really.”

Lawrence High had been on the losing end of a shutout in its last five matches against Manhattan, and that stuck in Scott’s mind leading up to Friday’s opener.

“We just wanted to be aggressive because the past couple of years, they had always beat us,” Scott said. “We wanted to put an end to that because a lot of the guys on the team are seniors. We have an all-senior forward line, so we decided to make the most of it and attack them.”

The Lions will try to build off of their win over the Indians, as they take on Topeka at 7 p.m. Tuesday at LHS.

“This was the first game of the year. Even though that was nice, we’ve got bigger plans,” Murphy said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re staying focused and not look too far ahead or not celebrating to the point where we’re losing focus of what is important, and that is keep working to get better. Every game, we’ve got to get better.”