Two Johnson County schools captured Kansas state titles in boys’ soccer last weekend and did so in very different ways.
Local powerhouse Blue Valley Southwest rolled to the program’s fifth championship in Class 5A in the past eight years, with a dominating 7-0 win Saturday in the state title match over Maize South.
It was a different story in Class 6A, where Shawnee Mission East sweated out the school’s first-ever boys’ soccer crown with a 1-0 victory over Dodge City.
For SM East coach Jamie Kelly, who has been varsity coach at the Prairie Village school for 18 years, it was a special moment.
“We’ve been through quite a number of heartbreaking times over the years,” Kelly said in an interview with the Post. “We lost in [the state] quarterfinals the last two years. We knew how close we were. It’s a lot to finally break through and get the first one. It’s pretty special.”
A first for SM East
SM East defeated Dodge City 1-0 on Saturday at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita.
The match’s lone goal was scored by Brady Neuman just before the half.
Kelly said the Lancers survived as they had all season on the strength of their defense, notably the cohesive and tenacious play of the squad’s back line.
SM East this season notched a school-record 15 shutouts and gave up only eight goals all season.
“Our defense has been our bread and butter all year,” Kelly said. “Can’t say enough about them, the back line and goalkeeper. They’re all great individually, so smart. But together, they just play so well.”
Prior to this year, SM East had gone to the state tournament three times but never finished higher than third overall.
Kelly said this year’s team included 20 seniors with “tons of experience,” who wanted to end their careers on a high note.
“They’ve been very focused from the beginning of the year. One thing we preached was that ‘details matter,'” Kelly said. “The last two years, not making it through, there were just little details in all those games that didn’t go our way. We wanted to change that.”
BV Southwest wraps up undefeated season
It was a different sort of redemption for BV Southwest, one of the most successful prep boys’ soccer programs in Kansas in recent years.
The Timberwolves rolled to a 7-0 win on Saturday in Wichita over Maize South, capping off an undefeated 21-0 season in Class 5A and earning some payback for two consecutive title match losses the past two years.
Senior Crew Alvarez, an All-American last season, notched a championship match hat-trick with three goals.
Alvarez this season set the BV Southwest single-season and career scoring mark and has committed to play college soccer at Drake University.
“He’s a dude,” coach Erik Jones said of his star player. “He’s 6-foot-5, very fast, technical on the ball, very physical. And he has all the intangibles and high soccer IQ. Plus, he’s an amazing kid off the field, very humble and a team-first guy.”
Alvarez got plenty of help in a scoring onslaught in the title match.
Sophomore Bryden Liem scored two of his own, and junior Eli Mick and senior Alex Beelman added goals, as well.
It was a season of domination for the T-Wolves. The team got down early in the opening match of the season versus Bishop Miege but quickly tied it up in that contest and never trailed again the rest of the year.
“We have a super talented group,” Jones said. “What sets them apart is how close-knit of a group they are. They get along well outside the soccer field.”
It was the fourth straight year BV Southwest met Maize South in the Class 5A title match, with Maize South winning the last two in 2022 and 2023. BV Southwest took the title in 2021.
“Last year going into the title match, we were a little tight and neither took control of the game,” Jones said. “We focused on being poised, dictating how the game was played.”
