The Helias Lady Crusaders knew they had a tough opponent on the schedule to wrap up the soccer regular season.
They were just fine with that.
"Hickman is very good, we know that," Helias coach Brad Dempsey said Thursday night after the Lady Crusaders dropped a 2-0 decision to the Kewpies at the 179 Soccer Park. "This was a great experience for us.
"We think Hickman is very similar to a potential sectional opponent if we do what we need to do in districts."
Hickman scored both of its goals in the second half after Helias did a good job in controlling play in the first 40 minutes.
The Lady Crusaders outshot the Kewpies 9-4 in the opening half, including a 5-1 edge in those on goal.
"I felt we were the better team, felt we had the better of play," Dempsey said.
But Hickman came out and took charge at the start of the second half and got on the board a little more than three minutes in on a goal by Lucy Kingsley.
"We got into a 10-15 minute spurt where we let them play their style and it hurt us," Dempsey said. "That really was the difference in the game."
Hickman got its second goal on a penalty kick from Nora Hargett with 14 minutes to play after Helias was whistled for a hand ball in the box.
"You make mistakes, but you learn from them and get better," Dempsey said.
Helias finished with 16 total shots to eight for Hickman (20-5), ranked No. 8 in Class 4 by the Missouri High School Soccer Coaches Association.
The Lady Crusaders (13-9, receiving votes in Class 3) are the No. 1 seed in next week's Class 3 District 13 Tournament at Harrisonville. Helias opens against Warrensburg at 4:30 p.m. Monday, with the title game to be played Wednesday.
"From where we started to where we are now is amazing," Dempsey said. "We're happy, but we're not satisfied. We have goals as a team and we're hungry to achieve those goals.
"This group could be one of the best we've had."
Prior to the game, Helias held a ceremony to honor its class of seniors.
"We're so proud of our seniors, it's a great group, the first four-year group that we've had with this coaching staff," Dempsey said. "We've been through a lot."
In Thursday night's JV game, Helias (8-2-4) wrapped up its season with a 4-0 win against Hickman.
Michaelee Sipi totaled two goals and an assist for the Lady Crusaders. Katerina Careaga and Reese Hamilton had a goal each. Ally Webb was in goal for the shutout.