OLATHE, Kan. — This season the Olathe West boy’s soccer team is putting together something special.
“We’re outworking everyone every single day and we’re seeing that,” junior goalkeeper Ryan Sauter said.
Others see it, too. The Owls are the top-ranked team in Kansas, and they’ve even grabbed some national attention. They’re no. 15 on Top Drawer’s Soccer ranking.
The guys are savoring the spotlight.
“Throughout the years with all the work and seeing it all pay off this year has been really rewarding,” senior midfielder Luke High said.
Olathe West may be good now, but wins didn’t always come easy for the Owls. The team and school were brand new in 2017, playing in a tough 6A Sunflower League.
They’ll be the first to admit their first year was not pretty, and featured a lot of losing.
“When it first started, it was really defeating and discouraging with the results we were getting,” High said.
The Owls have built the program from the ground up. Now they’re reaping the rewards of their hard work.
“Trying to keep the kids mentally engaged when they were losing big, because we knew it would pay off when they started to find success,” Olathe West head coach Matt Trumpp said.
The players’ commitment to getting better is paying off. They’re Sunflower League champs, and an impressive 15-1 record earned Olathe West the Hy-Vee and FOX4 Team of the Week honors.