The road to the Central Conference championship went through Northwest, just like Seward Coach Nick Holmes predicted.
The Seward girls’ soccer team had a chance to be a roadblock on that road after winning its first two games in the conference tournament, but the Vikings were too much for the Jays in the final, winning 10-0 and sending Seward home with the runner-up plaque April 13.
The Jays started the tournament with a 2-0 win over Columbus Lakeview April 11 in Seward. Carissa Mines and Vanessah Schluckebier scored the goals for SHS.
“We played pretty well,” Holmes said. “But we didn’t adjust to the changes Lakeview made at halftime.”
The win put Seward into the semifinals against Schuyler, a game Holmes billed as an opportunity to make up a game Seward gave away earlier in the season.
“We made it up,” he said.
Seward beat the Warriors 2-1 on two free kicks by Ava Fisher. The first kick bounced over the Schuyler goalkeeper’s head and into the net.
The second was a driving kick into the wind, Holmes said.
“That was awesome. It was a good win for us,” he said.
The Jays had nothing left for Northwest, however, he said. While the Vikings ran away with the game, Seward was able to get some experience for some younger players, Holmes said.
The week started with a 2-1 loss at York April 9 in double overtime. Fisher scored Seward’s goal on a penalty kick.
Overall, Holmes was happy with how SHS played.
Seward (7-5) has just one game on the schedule this week – April 16 at Aurora. The Jays defeated the Huskies 1-0.
The Jays will host Nebraska City Monday, April 22, in a make-up game and then play Lakeview Tuesday, April 24.
