The pieces of the puzzle are falling in place nicely for the Kentwood High girls soccer team.
Behind a pair of goals by Mykala Benjamin along with one each by Mariah Lee and Kiana Kraft, the fourth-ranked Conquerors turned back No. 5 Lewis & Clark Saturday afternoon 4-0 in a Class 4A state quarterfinal game.
Lee, a freshman forward, gave the Conquerors (16-3-1) all they would need by finding the back of the net from point-blank range in the 33rd minute.
“I saw Mykala going for the header and anticipated where it would go,” Lee explained. “It went right in front of me … then the goalie came out, so I just tapped it in.
“It was slow crawling in there.”
Lee’s goal was the only slow aspect of Kentwood’s game Saturday afternoon. The Conquerors turned up the pressure in the second half as Kraft pushed the Kentwood lead to 2-0 in the 42nd minute on an assist from Reiney Meyers. Benjamin followed with a pair of goals, one in the 67th minute and another in the 72nd on a picture-perfect free kick assist from Madison Fuller.
Kentwood’s Courtney Johnson collected her 12th shutout of the season with the win.
“We’re definitely playing good at the right time,” said Johnson, who had five saves. “We had our struggles at the beginning of the season with people being injured and just sick, and trying to figure out positioning since we lost so many people from last year.
“Now we’re putting the pieces together and we’re peaking at the right time.”
Indeed they are.
The win propels Kentwood into the Final Four for the second year in a row. The Conquerors will play the winner of the Skyview-Snohomish game at 8 p.m. next Friday night (Nov. 19) at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood. Kentwood took a school-best third place at state last year.
“They’ve put themselves in a position to build upon last year,” said Kentwood coach Aaron Radford. “Right now, if we can come out and play a very good game on Friday night, maybe we will have a chance to best what we did last year and get a second or a first place.”
The Conquerors outshot the Tigers 12-7.
Yet, as good as Kentwood’s offense was Saturday afternoon, the defense may have even been better. Lewis & Clark seldom pushed the ball inside 20 yards on the Conk defense, and each shot they attempted was contested by heavy pressure.
It’s a credit to defenders Fuller, Megan McNally, Andrea Hatfield, and Sara Bindl, the team’s back row, Radford noted.
“They were a little upset these last two games after giving up goals early against South Kitsap and then against Central Valley,” the coach said. “They know they’re better than that, and that’s what they wanted to come out and prove.”
It was the 10th win in a row for the Conquerors, who are making their sixth straight state appearance.
It was the first time this season that Lewis & Clark (18-2-1) was held scoreless.
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