De Soto knocks of Maranatha to advance to state semis

When it was over, the De Soto fans rushed onto the field at the Overland Park Soccer Complex, joining around their team to share in the moment. This was worth celebrating.

With a 3-0 win over Maranatha Academy in Kansas 4A-1A soccer quarterfinal play Tuesday, De Soto advanced to the state semifinals — Friday in Towanda — for the first time since 2003.

“De Soto’s been to state cross country pretty much every year. Tennis has sent some teams to state. But other than that … soccer’s the only one that’s gone to state (recently), and we haven’t gone in six years,” Wildcats coach Darren Erpelding said. “So yeah, it’s huge for our school and our program.”

Senior Andrew Konetzni, junior Octavio Villa and junior Keith Hoover scored goals, while senior goalkeeper Tyler Buffkin notched the shutout for the 12-7 Wildcats.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Villa said. “We’ve been wanting this for such a long time. We’ve been working our butts off since day one.”

With all but two starters back from last season, Erpelding knew the opportunity was there to make a run at returning to the state tournament this year.

What he wasn’t so sure of Tuesday was how best to gameplan for Maranatha senior Taylor Lemmon, who has committed to Virginia Tech and entered the game with 36 goals while being held scoreless only twice in the team’s first 18 games.

But senior Joe O’Neill, along with help from junior Parker Williams, effectively limited Lemmon’s chances and kept him off the scoreboard.

Meanwhile, Konetzni scored with nine minutes, 46 seconds remaining in the first half to give De Soto a 1-0 lead. Villa and Hoover added goals in the second half.

Maranatha finishes 13-6 with a regional championship to its credit — a positive step for the program, coach Keith Nelson said.

•THUNDER ADVANCES: St. James, 10-9, also moved on to the 4A-1A semifinals with a 2-1 win over Louisburg, which dropped to 15-4.

@ Go to KansasCity.com for Varsity Zone, our home for high school sports.

submitted by RYAN YOUNG - 2009-11-03 23:23:03

Comments - leave comment