Balanced scoring attack allows Eagles to cruise to victory against Indians

by Michael Smith

     Most high school coaches in any sport will likely agree that the best time for the team to play well is near the end of the regular season.
     That way a team can carry the momentum of winning into the postseason.
     That appears to be happening with the Grain Valley boys soccer team. It came in Tuesday’s game against Fort Osage, winners of six of its last eight games. The Eagles continued their winning ways, improving to 12-7 on the season and 6-3 in the Suburban White Conference during a 4-0 win against the Indians at Moody Murray Memorial Field.
     Grain Valley has one more regular season game left against Truman on Thursday before it heads into the Class 3 District 7 Tournament as the No. 3 seed. It will take on Sedalia Smith-Cotton at 3:00pm Saturday at Warrensburg High School.
     Winning seven of their last nine games could give the Eagles the momentum it needs to make a strong push to win the district tournament.
     “We could easily be the first seed,” Grain Valley junior Jude Quick said. “I think Chrisman (the No. 1 seed) beat us 2-1. That was such a close game. We are right there with them. We can win districts and go to state.”
     That’s the kind of confidence Grain Valley has right now after making a big improvement in their offensive output as of late. In the first 10 games of the season, the Eagles averaged 2.5 goals per game. In their last nine contests, the average has jumped to 4 goals per game.
     “We’ve had a lot of success down the width of the field,” Grain Valley head coach Brett Lewis said. “Carter (Compton), Kade (Compton) and Jude (Quick) have been fantastic in the midfield at the end of the season.
     “Things are coming together, and I think it’s a good time to happen.”
     Another key to Grain Valley’s recent success on offense has been trying new ways to attack instead of being one dimensional.
     “We have been working on playing our targets more,” Quick said. “We used to just play through balls over the top and guys would get tired running after them. Now we are staying close to the zone and playing the ball back to the mid field.”
     “We have been mixing it up more. So many teams just play the long ball over the top. It’s so predictable and easy to recognize. We have made different runs and it has been working.”
     Getting better at finishing shots has also been a huge help to Grain Valley.
     “In the beginning of the season, we were getting shots, we just weren’t finishing them,” Grain Valley senior Austin Schmitt said. “We are just finding the back of the net this time. I was moved from the center back to center (midfield) and we moved (Owen White) to the 10 and it worked for us.”
     In Tuesday’s game, the Eagles had four different players score.
     Grain Valley scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of the game. Quick received a pass from Owen White and he got past a defender and punched the ball inside the right post for a 1-0 lead. Later in the first half, White scored on a give-and-go with Kade Compton as he knocked in a left-footer.
     “(White) has been a stud for us in the middle,” Lewis said. “He’s scored a run. I challenged him at the beginning of the season to step up and be a leader for us in the midfield. He initiates a lot of our offense.”
     Schmitt scored the Eagles’ first goal of the second half when he knocked in a head off White’s corner kick. Senior midfielder Micah Siems capped the scoring with a goal he knocked in off a rebound.
     “We have five or six guys that have double digit goals, it’s not just one guy scoring 20 goals,” Schmitt said.

Grain Valley senior Austin Schmitt scored on a header off a set piece in the second half of a 4-0 victory against Fort Osage Tuesday at home. 
Photo credit: Michael Smith​

Grain Valley junior Owen White had one goal and two assists.
Photo credit: Michael Smith

Grain Valley senior Cylas Brewer looks for an open teammate on a throw in.
Photo credit: Michael Smith