​Thiessen took on unique role to aid Eagles in 3-2 victory

by Michael Smith


The Grain Valley girls soccer team appeared to be in a dire situation.

The Eagles had a 2-0 lead and were in good shape until the seventh minute of their non-conference home contest with Lee’s Summit Monday at home.

A Lee’s Summit ball handler got past Grain Valley goalkeeper Alayna Maybell on a breakaway attempt, but the two players collided. The officials ruled Maybell obstructed the path of the Tigers have an opportunity to score and was issued a red card.

That meant Grain Valley was going to have to play the rest of the game while being down a player. Not only that, but head coach Brett Lewis also had to find a replacement for Maybell in the net.

That player ended up being senior forward Emma Thiessen, who had seven saves including a stop during a shootout period as the Eagles took a 3-2 thriller after making six penalty kicks to the Tigers’ five.

Thiessen is a known offensive threat for Grain Valley as she is a well above average passer and goal scorer at the striker position. Because of the red card to Maybell, Lewis said he needed her to play goalie.

She happily obliged. During the shootout, Lee’s Summit junior Lillie Whistance had to make a penalty kick to keep her team’s hopes alive. Her shot went well above the net as the Eagles stormed the field and yelled in jubilation as Thiessen impacted the game in an unlikely way.
She yelled, ‘Let’s go!’ as she was surrounded by her teammates. After the game, she had an ice pack around her left shin as she attempted to stop a shot with her foot on a PK from Lee’s Summit.

“Coach asked who should go in, and I said, ‘I will do it.’ The team needed it but I could not have done it without the backs playing their game and Mia (Cole) being tough in the middle.”

“I played goalie a couple of times in club, but this is definitely not normal.”

Somehow, her team won even with the odds stacked against them while playing one of the best teams in the state.

“All of our players are mentally tough and didn’t let anything get in their head,” Thiessen said. “I had an amazing back line that stuck it out. This was an amazing win.”

Thiessen said she couldn’t remember the last time she played as a goalie, but she borrowed a yellow goalkeeper jersey and ran out to replace backup Catherine Barnes after head coach Brett Lewis asked her to fill in.

Despite playing out of position, Thiessen allowed just two scores. She had seven saves and one stop during the shootout as she knocked away an attempt from junior Tatum Bresette.

Lewis said he was impressed with how Thiessen did in the net and noted she was the best option for replacing Maybell among those left who were eligible to play.

“She is the most athletic and she’s a good basketball,” Lewis said. “And I was thinking, ‘You know what? I am going to put Emma in goal. She played out of her mind and played well on set pieces.”

Sophomore defender Taylor Nicholson had similar thoughts to Lewis.

“I feel confident in what she was doing,” Nicholson said. “She looked like a natural out there. I had all my faith in her.”

While Thiessen stood on her head, six Eagles made penalty kicks, with Nicholson scoring the game winning PK on a shot she snuck inside the left post and past Lee’s Summit goalie Avery Rausch. Thiessen, Meghan Knust, Sophia Giuliano, Ally Gilbert and Mia Cole were the other Grain Valley players to make shots during the shootout.

“I just knew if I looked at one corner, (Rausch) would dive the other way,” Nicholson said.

The Eagles scored two goals in the first six minutes of game. Thiessen chipped a shot over Rausch and into the net and junior Ally Gilbert scored near the back post following a cross from Thiessen.

The Eagles led 2-0 until Lee’s Summit junior Alli Snow beat Thiessen to the ball at the top of the 18-yard box and lobbed a shot over the senior and into the net to make it 2-1. Grain Valley was able to hold the Tigers at bay and it appeared they were going to get a win in regulation. However, Tigers senior Keira Love caught Thiessen coming off her line and she punched the ball into an empty net with 30 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime.

That was a moment that could have been a backbreaker for the Eagles, but as Lewis said after the game, his team showed mental toughness.

“That was pretty special,” Lewis said. “We showed how tough we are. I told the girls before the game, I don’t care who (Lee’s Summit) has or where they are going to college, that doesn’t phase me and that shouldn’t bother us.”

​“I don’t want people coming here to our home field and laughing and giggling and having a good time. I want our opponents to think, ‘Man! Grain Valley is tough! I thought we outplayed them for most of the game.”

Grain Valley sophomore Taylor Nicholson scores the winning penalty kick, while Thiessen made seven saves during Grain Valley's 3-2 win over Lee's Summit Monday at home. Thiessen filled in as goalkeeper after sophomore Alayna Maybell received a red card from the officials. Photo credit: Michael Smith