The LHS boy’s soccer team finished their season on Tuesday night, after a short playoff run ending with a loss to Washburn Rural. The loss marked a disappointing end to a promising and rewarding season. The Lions started the season on a roll, winning four out of the first five games. Throughout the season, they had marquee wins against Topeka High, Gardner Edgerton, and Olathe North. LHS finished with regular season record of 5-11-1. 

An exciting storyline this season was senior Cale Scott breaking the LHS single season scoring record, finishing with 20 goals. He didn’t stop there, adding five more in two playoff games. Coach Brandon Daley was thrilled to be able to coach such a talented player. 

“It was huge,” Daley said. “It hadn’t been broken in my ten years of being here, only tied by Cale’s older brother. He also leads the Sunflower League in goals, and that has not happened at Lawrence High in quite some time. He is so passionate about his craft of soccer. He plays with such fire that he brings out new levels of competitiveness in his teammates.”

Scott explained that a lot of pressure was lifted when he scored the 18th goal. 

“I was pretty excited,” Scott said. “My brother held it since he graduated in 2017. So it’s always been something between me and my brother and in our family. Ever since I walked through the doors as a freshman, that’s something I always wanted to break. I was fortunate enough to break it my last year.”

Another senior, Carson Schraad, had a memorable season that finished with his first varsity goal in his last game. 

“The highlight of the season for me has to be that goal last night,” Schraad said. “It just put a nice capstone on my four years here. My first varsity goal, with a minute left in my last game. It’s kind of bittersweet, because it is the last game. I’m done with soccer, I’m not going to play in college. But it was a great way to end my career.” 

Daley pointed out that Schraad’s goal was the culmination of a season of selfless dedication to the team.

“Carson was such a team player and an incredible senior leader. He always sought the goals of the team over any individual goals. He connected with younger players who were new to the program, making friends and helping them to feel like a part of the program.”

Junior Ocean Comfort was one of the younger stars of this season, his first complete season on the varsity squad. He put the team’s middling record in perspective. 

“We had a good year, a lot of tough games,” Comfort said. “Sunflower League is a really tough conference. I was happy with it, definitely.”

Daley was proud of Comfort’s dedication to his craft. 

“Ocean stepped into a varsity role in our midfield this year and improved each game,” Daley said. “He is such a hardworking kid and is harder on himself than I could ever be. He took direction well, did exactly what we asked of him, and never questioned it.” 

On and off the field, Daley was proud of the team for being well-rounded students. He highlighted seniors Ayden Ammann and Jack Stutler for their hard work. 

“Ayden and Jack sing in the choir at LHS and still find time to compete at a high level on the soccer field. Balancing those duties as well as band and keeping up grades are something I’m continually amazed by. Our team as a whole does such a great job of balancing other activities as well as maintaining a high GPA.”

Maybe the most enjoyable part of the season was unrelated to the status of the win column. The student section and the home crowd will stick in Schraad’s memory forever. 

“Oh, it’s one of the best things in sports, really,” Schraad said. “There’s nothing quite like making a solid play and having a bunch of people cheering for you and screaming your name. It’s one of the best things.”