ShawneeDispatch.com

Photo by Chris Wristen

Mill Valley's Kevin Bankowski intercepts a Blue Valley pass during the Jaguars' 5-0 loss on Thursday.

Photo by Chris Wristen

Mill Valley's Kevin Bankowski tangles with Blue Valley's Alex Todd in a battle for possession of the ball on Thursday. Blue Valley defeated Mill Valley 5-0.

Three goals in the first 17 minutes of Thursday night's contest proved to be too much of an early deficit for the Mill Valley High School boys soccer team to recover from in an eventual 5-0 loss to Blue Valley at MVHS.

Ben Kerkhoff corralled a deflection off the crossbar and pushed a shot past Mill Valley senior goalkeeper Thomas Richmond for a 1-0 Tiger lead. Shortly thereafter, Jeff Jensen struck a low blast from 18 yards out that found the back of the net. Less than a minute later, Mohammad Romahi capitalized on a defensive collapse and extended the Blue Valley lead to 3-0 just 16:10 into the game.

Taylor Walter closed out the first-half scoring with a goal in the 26th minute.

Blue Valley's superior speed - a trademark of previous Mill Valley squads - gave the Jaguars fits. The Tigers also displayed crafty footwork and precise passing.

Mill Valley coach Arlan Vomhof credited two of Blue Valley's goals to nice technical soccer and the other two to his own squad's miscues.

"Those things happen, but they're silly mistakes that cost us a couple goals," Vomhof said. "I think they had two very good ones in the first half; I think we gave 'em two in the first half."

Vomhof tinkered with his youth-laden squad's formation throughout the first half. After the fourth goal, he found a lineup that worked. It was at that point that he saw his team grow.

"I changed to a different lineup, which then the first half we came out and finished it fine," Vomhof said. "In the second half we went out with that same lineup and we basically weren't score on in the second half, so I was really glad with the boys that they adapted really well to it. I was really surprised that even when we changed they made opportunities against a team like (Blue Valley)."

The Tigers' final goal, put in by Tom Adams in the 45th minute, happened on a play where Vomhof said his defender's jersey was held.

Blue Valley threatened a few more times during the final 35 minutes, but Richmond didn't let one slip by.

The Jaguars (0-1) are replacing most of their starting lineup from 2007. By opening with Blue Valley and then playing host to Blue Valley West at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Vomhof said he hopes his squad will learn quickly from some of the state's top teams.

"It's great exposure early," he said. "We'll get into some games coming up that it's going to benefit us seeing this."

YOUNG TEAM

Mill Valley has only four seniors on its varsity roster. They are Nate Friesner, Andrew Wilson, Thomas Richmond and Kurt VanKuiken. Eight juniors are on the varsity roster, as well as a few underclassmen.

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