Thiessen powers Grain Valley offense in 3-2 win over Guardians

by Michael Smith


     The Grain Valley girls soccer team was in a battle.
     The Eagles took on St. Michael The Archangel Catholic in a non-conference contest Thursday at Lee’s Summit North High School and it was a close affair.
     Grain Valley head coach Brett Lewis said his team didn’t play its best, but junior Emma Thiessen stepped up to power the offense, while sophomore Mia Cole anchored the defense in a 3-2 victory.
      The Eagles (11-4) have now won five games in a row and nine out of their last 10.
     Thiessen, an all-state selection her freshman season, notched two goals and an assist to help her team get enough goals to take the win.
     She scored in the first half after receiving a cross from junior Annabelle Totta to put her team up 1-0.
     St. Michael tied the game at 1-all late in the first half on a free kick from Piper Hughes that ended with a goal by Victoria Swingle as the ball bounced off her face on a header attempt and went into the net.
     After going into halftime tied at 1-all, Thiessen received a forward pass from junior Sevreign Aumua and nudged a shot inside the right post after goalkeeper Sophia Swingle came to the left side to challenge.
     Thiessen capped her big offensive day with a hesitation dribble that freed up a passing lane to get a cross to freshman Radleigh Childers deep inside the Guardian 18-yard box. The freshman punched one inside the right post with 16 minutes, 23 seconds left to put Grain Valley up by two goals.
     “I was able to take a few touches and maneuver on the first defender,” Thiessen said of her assist. “The second defender was coming and I heard Radleigh yell, ‘I’m here! And I was like, ‘You know what? I am going to give it to Radleigh’.”
     Those are the kind of plays that Lewis has been used to Thiessen making.
     “Emma has such a high IQ in that final third of the field,” Lewis said. “She knows what players are running and what spaces are opening up. She pulled that defender over there with her and get played it to Radleigh, who was able to finish.”
     St. Michael head coach Rob Putthoff echoed similar sentiments.
     “(Thiessen) plays very composed on the ball,” Putthoff said. “She protects the ball and her passing and distributions is superior.”
     On defense, it was Cole who came up big for Grain Valley. She made a big defensive play when the Eagles were up 2-1 in the 53rd minute. A St. Michael player had a free run a ball in front of the goal. Goalkeeper Alayna Maybell came off her line, which left the goal open. However, Cole flew in from the left side and blasted the ball out of bounds.
     She also stuffed a pair of breakaway opportunities from the Guardians late in the game when Grain Valley had just a one-goal advantage.
     “We put her in that defensive midfield role today and she’s always just a hard worker,” Grain Valley head coach Brett Lewis said of Cole. “The other day, we were talking about our recovery runs, when the ball does get played in behind.
     “And Mia did a great job recovering. She showed us what a recovery run looks like.”
     The sophomore added that she enjoys playing a defensive role for the team.
     “(Being on defense and being physical) is my forte, you could say,” Cole said. “Holding off people is definitely one of my strong suits.
     “I saw that the ball went through and saw that Alayna was down, so I saw the ball and I knew I had to get it.”
     The Guardians scored another goal in the 72nd minute to narrow the gap to 3-2, but they didn’t end up getting the equalizer.

Grain Valley sophomore Mia Cole, left, made some key defensive plays in the second half while junior Emma Thiessen powered the offense with two goals and one assist during a 3-2 victory over St. Michael The Archangel Catholic Thursday at Lee's Summit North High School. Photo credit: Michael Smith