Kentridge girls soccer had its season come to a close in the first round of the state tournament on a chilly night at Mount Si High School on Nov. 8.
The Chargers fell 4-1 to the Wildcats, and in the eyes of Head Coach Jeff Fleming, they just didn’t have enough
“They were just all over us tonight. The better team won, plain and simple. We had a great season and had a tall task, we just didn’t complete it today,” Fleming said.
Kentridge appeared in the state tournament back in 2018, but hasn’t reached it since then. This team ended that streak and had a great season to get to state.
“We fought til the end. I know it seemed rough from the score, but it was a close game. We worked hard this whole season and I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished,” Ella Schug said.
Earlier this season, the two sides played each other, ending in a 1-1 draw. That tie was the only tie on the Wildcats’ schedule this entire season and one of four Kentridge draws.
After a competitive first half, the game just got away from Kentridge after halftime. It was just an uncharacteristic game for the Chargers, a team that hadn’t given up four goals all year.
The game started off slow, with both teams feeling each other out and not really getting Grade-A looks on target.
Mount Si broke the scoreless tie in the 18th minute: Alexa Newman created some miscommunication on the Charger backline and bounced a ball off keeper Alexis Natividad for the lead.
Shiney Mayanja controls the ball for the Chargers. Ben Ray / The Reporter
But a minute later Kentridge responded with a goal of its own. Ella Schug teamed up with Shiney Mayanja with some good combination play to free up space for Schug to cross the ball from the left side of the pitch. Alexa Mora deflected the ball on goal, but the Mount Si keeper made a great save. Following the save the ball fell right at the feet of Jayda Sparksm who cashed in for her third goal in two games.
“I’m glad we got one past them,” said Schug.
“That’s always the response you want. Our energy picked up after we were down. I was hoping that energy would continue, but it was great to comeback on that,” Fleming said.
In the second halfm the Wildcats seemed to have an answer for everything Kentridge was trying to do. The winning goal came just 12 minutes out of the halftime. Macie Harris drilled a shot that Charger goalkeeper Natividad got a piece of, but couldn’t keep it out of the goal.
Kentridge just couldn’t find a glimmer of light until the game was out of reach. Even then, the Mount Si defense handled the Kentridge attack.
“I think they had a really good back line. I’ll give credit to them, their backline is really good,” Schug said.
The loss is a sour end for the Kentridge season, a team led by two Division 1 players in Sparks and Schug, who have done so much for the Charger program.
“They’re awesome. I’ll miss coaching them, we’ll miss having them around. Jayda, Ella and all the captains including Addison. That’s the vibe. They carry the personality on this team, so we’ll miss them,” Fleming said.
But not all is lost for Coach Fleming’s side. The Chargers graduated five seniors on a roster of 18. That holds a lot of promise for the future.
“I think they’ll be ready to roll. We have a lot of juniors, starters coming back. We’ll be ready from the get-go,” Fleming said.
This team had an impact even on the seniors.
“I wouldn’t want to go to any other school. I love this team so much, they’re my best friends,” Schug said.
Two Chargers hug after the final whistle. Ben Ray / The Reporter
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