​Shorthanded Eagles use strong defense to top Wildcats, 1-0

by Michael Smith


The Grain Valley girls soccer team was shorthanded.

The Eagles came into Tuesday’s non-conference game with Blue Springs missing center back Taylor Nicholson due to an illness. Junior Mia Cole and sophomore Radleigh Childers also didn’t play as many minutes as normal due to injuries suffered during the contest.

This could have been problematic for an Eagles squad that lacks depth. However, Grain Valley managed to score a goal against a strong Blue Springs defense and switched to a defense-heavy scheme in the second half, which resulted the team hanging on to a 1-0 win on the road.

“With Mia coming off because of her blood issue, we had to make some tactical adjustments,” Grain Valley head coach Brett Lewis said. “We didn’t attack nearly as much as I wanted to in the second half. We did what we had to do to get a goal and we defended well enough to win.”

The Wildcats (6-5) came into the game on a four-game winning streak, all shutouts, including a 1-0 win against then No. 1-ranked Blue Springs South. So, Grain Valley had a tough challenge to score.

The Eagles (12-3) got their lone goal in the 23rd minute when sophomore defender Avery Stumpenhaus sent a perfect cross in front of the Blue Springs goal line, and senior midfielder Meghan Knust made a sliding tap in shot.

“That was definitely a great ball by Avery,” Knust said. “She had a couple of good, dangerous balls for us.”

After seeing his Eagles were struggling to generate chances following the score, Lewis elected to have his team focus more on defense in the second half.

“It was a gritty game,” Knust said. “We tried to play defense as much as we could. We were focusing on clearing the ball out.”

They appeared to have a bend but don’t break mentality in the final 40 minutes as Blue Springs generated multiple shot attempts but were unable to get one to go into the back of the net.
Following Knust’s goal, Blue Springs freshman midfielder Adelyn Karst had an open shot from the left side of the 18-yard box, but Grain Valley goalkeeper Alayna Maybell ranged over to make the save.

Later in the first half, senior Brooke Alsup had an open shot right in front of the Grain Valley goal, but she barely nicked the ball, and it resulted in a slow rolling shot and an easy save for Maybell.

In the second half, junior Hazel Trotman had a wide-open shot from the right wing in the penalty box, but it hit the crossbar. Her team created other chances, as well, but Maybell seemed to consistently be in the right place at the right time, totaling seven saves.

“I am really working on reading (shots) more,” Maybell said. “The coaches have been working with me to become a goalie again.”

Added Lewis: “She is good at reading the ball and seeing where it’s going to go. I thought she played well. She keeps getting better and better at the saves she should make.”

Grain Valley is now on a seven-game winning streak and the key for this current run, according to Lewis, has been the defense. The Eagles have allowed just six goals in that span and have five shutouts.

​“We’re getting more defensively disciplined in this final stretch of the season,” Lewis said. “We’re not giving up goals and we are making the other teams earn everything.”

Grain Valley senior Meghan Knust, left, scored her team's only goal while goalkeeper Alayna Maybell had seven saves during a 1-0 victory over Blue Springs Tuesday on the road. Photo credit: Michael Smith