Maize hands Maize South first loss of 2020

MAIZE, Kan. (Catch it Kansas) - In a game where the story throughout the match was who could overcome the elements, Maize came out on top of rival Maize South 3-1, handing the Mavericks their first loss of the season.

Heavy winds started about five minutes into play, causing a drastic change in both temperature and style of play. Normally on target shot attempts went wide or high, forcing both teams to adjust on the fly.

Despite playing into the wind for the first half, the Eagles scored first, Mikey Velazquez scoring on a set piece just outside of the box. Maize keeper Grant Wessley nearly pitched a first half shutout, but as a sudden rain storm started to fade away Robert Giroux scored with just 18 second left on the clock to level the score at 1 goal apiece as teams went into the locker room.

The rain sub-sided for the entirety of the second half, but neither team could break through until the 73rd minute. A free kick from Maize South’s Marcos Rodriguez got caught up in the wind, and that set up Maize for a counter attack. Angel DeLeon had a one-on-one with the keeper, and despite tripping into Peyton Simon the ball still flew into the back of the net to give the Eagles a 2-1 advantage.

They weren’t done scoring, either. With the clock winding down on the Mavs perfect season, Rory Morales sealed it, taking a clean shot on goal on the second try after a corner kick to finish out the 3-1 win.

This was the regular season finale for both squads, Maize South sees their 15-game win streak to start the season come to a close but will still claim the top seed as the postseason begins next week. They will host Goddard in the first round of a new regional play system put in place to limit travel this season.

Maize finishes the regular season with a 13-2-1 mark, and will host Goddard-Eisenhower by virtue of their win and the Tigers' loss to Derby Thursday. Eisenhower will enter the playoffs with a 12-3 record, still having to play a road contest despite finishing with the third best mark in all of Class 5A West.

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