Twin Towers small in size, big in heart

By Bill Knust

The Winnetonka High girls soccer team had three specific goals this year.

The Griffins wanted to make the finals of the North Kansas City soccer tournament, which they did; finish with a winning record, and win a district game, which they’ve never done.

With the Class 2 District 14 soccer tournament beginning Monday, May 12, the Griffins will get their chance when they face North Kansas City on Tuesday, May 13, at 5 p.m. at Northgate Soccer Complex.

A big reason for the Griffins’ success this season has been the play of junior twin sisters Tara and Kara Chavez, or the Twin Towers as they are called. While they may be small in size, their play on the field has been large. The duo has accounted for 38 goals this season, with Tara setting the school’s benchmark with 21 right now. Kara is right behind her with 17, and she has missed games due to track.

To put that in perspective, Winnetonka scored 37 goals all of last year.

With as much success as this sister act has had this season, one would think these two have played forward all their life. It could not be further from the truth.

“Our whole lifetime she was defense and I was forward,” Kara said.

When Griffins head coach Dave Flynn needed another speedster to join Kara up front, he selected Tara, and the tandem has produced goals at an alarming rate.

“We can’t read each other’s minds; everyone always asks us that,” Kara said. “But, we know where we are each supposed to be. I know that she is going to come up through the middle, so I need to cross the ball because I don’t have an angle to shoot. I just know she is going to be right there. I don’t know how to explain it.”

The success has the girls enjoying this season, and makes Winnetonka a threat to win districts.

“All the goals we have set so far we have been able to accomplish,” Tara said. “If we set our minds to something, we can do it.”

Lady Oakies still looking for goals

The Oak Park High girls soccer team will head into the Class 2 District 16 soccer tournament as the No. 3-seeded team, but coach Johnny Chain likes the way his team is playing right now.

The Lady Oakies will face Park Hill South on Monday, May 12, at 5 p.m. at Park Hill South.

“We had a rough stretch five or six games ago, but the girls are playing harder now,” Chain said. “We are playing well. It hasn’t been the fact we aren’t playing hard because we have, we just don’t score a lot of goals. When you aren’t scoring a lot of goals you are going to be in every game you play.”

The difference for Oak Park is that early on, it was scoring off of restarts. Those goals have come far fewer lately, Chain said.

Liberty is the No. 1 seed and district favorite. However, Chain has seen his share of upsets at the district playoff level.

“Our goal is to get to the championship game,” Chain said. “I don’t think Oak Park has been to a championship game since I left in 2003. The goal is to get back to that point. At that point in time anything can happen.”