Washington Boys Soccer

Cougars breeze past Wash; Trojans up next

The Kennedy boys soccer team won the right to a rematch with 3A top-ranked Iowa City West in Saturday’s substate final by toppling Washington, 4-1, Wednesday evening at Kingston Stadium.

Next up for the No. 16 Cougars (9-8) is once-beaten West, who won the first go-around in the regular season 2-0.  No. 14 Washington gave the Trojans their only blemish of the year, a 3-2 defeat in overtime.

“We know we’re capable of beating them,” Kennedy keeper Ben Feltes said. “We just need to focus on our game. And play with passion like we did tonight.”

It was breezy Wednesday as well as balmy, and in a tournament game between two evenly matched, well-acquainted foes, the windy conditions may have played as much of a factor as anything. Though the Warriors won the opening coin flip, Coach J.P. Graham chose to have his guys go into the wind the first half and have it at their backs in the second.

“I thought if we could hold them the first half, we could score a few more goals with the wind, “Graham said. “It didn’t work out that way.”

For one thing, it wasn’t near as gusty in the second half. And, with a 2-1 halftime lead, Kennedy had momentum on its side.

“I think the wind limited Washington’s play somewhat,” said Kennedy co-coach Mike Robertson. “They’re a team that likes to take big swings switching the ball to the weak side. The wind prevented them from doing it as much.”

In any case, the Cougars were clearly the more aggressive team from the start. They dominated ball possession in the first half with the Warriors backpedaling on their heels much of the time.

“We wanted to drive at the goal all night,” Robertson said. “And we used a lot of combination plays, with multiple players passing the ball.”

Kennedy’s first goal with nine minutes gone was more of a chip shot by Riley Galbraith. With the ball plopped at his feet right in front of the net, he faked one way and dribbled it in the other.

Playing with a gimpy foot hurt in practice last week, Galbraith seemed unaffected as he was on the field most of the time until the waning minutes of the match.  It’s unlikely he’ll play in Saturday’s noon title face-off in Iowa City, however, as he hopes to be competing for a state tennis championship in Cedar Rapids at the same time.

“We knew that might happen,” Robertson said. “His teammates will have to step up.”

Washington’s only score came at the 27:35 mark in the opening stanza when Kimu Kasha drilled a penalty kick past Kennedy’s Feltes.  It was the only goal Feltes allowed all night, despite a number of hard shots delivered his way.

“He had some key saves for us,” Robertson said. “Especially in the second half when they could have made a game of it if they’d scored.”

With an ice pack on his sore right shoulder after the match, Feltes shrugged off any accolades.

“As a team, we played a great game,” he said. “We defended as a team, attacked as a team, scored as a team and won as a team.”

What turned out to be the winning goal was made by the Cougars’ Tyler Pape halfway through the first half. Given a free kick from the far right side, he put a reverse spin on a line drive that hooked untouched into the net.

“I’ve worked on it in practice,” Pape said. “I kicked it with the outside of my right foot and and it got past the keeper."

“It was a perfect shot,” said Washington Coach Graham. “We had our chances after that to tie it up 2-2. But we didn’t take the momentum.

“Some of it was self-inflicted. We had possessions in the second half, but we just didn’t take advantage of our opportunities.”

Kennedy did, on the other hand, as Pape scored again on an open breakaway with an assist from Eric Bertroche and Mark Schulz closed out the night with a ricochet shot off the goal post.

KENNEDY 4, WASHINGTON 1

Goals: CRK -- Riley Galbraith, Tyler Pape 2, Mark Schulz; CRW -- Kimu Kasha. Assists: CRK -- Eric Bertroche.

Lions outlast J-Hawks; Warriors outclass Bobcats

It was a tale of opposites at Kingston Stadium Monday night as the Washington and Linn-Mar boys soccer teams advanced to Wednesday’s Class 3A substate semifinals.

The Warriors skunked Western Dubuque 9-0 in the opener and didn’t allow a single shot at the goal the entire match.

In the nightcap, meanwhile, the Lions were knotted with Jefferson 0-0 after two overtimes and won by outscoring the J-Hawks 4-2 in the shootout.

“I was certainly pleased with our effort,” said Linn-Mar Coach Corey Brinkmeyer. “I wish we could have scored in regulation, and we had a couple of good chances.

“But we were able to hang around long enough, just like we have all season. And our sophomore goal keeper (Jared Belin) was  tremendous.”

The Lions (7-12) now face once-beaten and top-ranked Iowa City West Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Northwest Junior High in Iowa City.  The Trojans won the teams’ regular season match 3-2 in double overtime.

But Linn-Mar is looking to even the score.

“We lost to Jefferson 1-0 the first time we played them,” said the Lions’ Eric Pfau. “We came back against them, and now we’re looking for revenge against West.”

Brinkmeyer is confident, as well.

“I’m really proud of the way our seniors played tonight,” he said. “With this team, the sky’s the limit.”

In his first year as the starting goalie, Belin said he played the game of his life against Jefferson.

“I was really on my game tonight,” he said. “And we knew everything was on the line. The winner goes on. The loser goes home.”

Belin stopped a hard shot by Jefferson’s Ali Al-Yasseri with 7:57 to go in the second overtime and stopped another right in front of the net as time expired.

Earlier, at the end of regulation, he deflected a sure goal over the net.

Two Jefferson attempts in the shootout hit the goal post, one on the side and one on top.

“The goal was our friend tonight,” said Linn-Mar’s Matt McKillip. “But there’s no question Jared saved the game for us.”

Al-Yasseri missed the only penalty kick of the night with 1:52 to go in the first half.

“It hurt to miss the penalty kick,” said Jefferson Coach John O’Connor. “That was kind of a momentum shift. But that wasn’t when the game was lost.

“I thought we came out very sluggish and never did seem to find our rhythm. Both teams had some good looks, and both teams missed some opportunities.  We just couldn’t find a way to move the ball.”

The J-Hawks end their season at 9-8.

Washington (11-7) moves on to face archrival Kennedy (8-8) Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Kingston.

Washington beat the Cougars 1-0 last week in the final game of the regular season.

In the latest 3A poll, Washington is ranked 14th and Kennedy 16th.

The Warriors had no trouble at all with the Western Dubuque Bobcats of the Wamac conference.  They scored early and often, building up a 7-0 lead at halftime and concentrating on ball possession the rest of the way.

Washington goal keepers Hunter Loushin and Max Newcamp had a lonely night as the didn’t have a shot come their way.

A trio of Bobcat goalies, meanwhile, faced an onslaught of 34 shots.  Warrior reserve Evan Fisher led eight different Warriors scorers with two goals and an assist.

“We had great team chemistry tonight,” Fisher said. “I just try to distribute the ball to my teammates. But tonight I was in the right place at the right time.”

Washington Coach J.P. Graham said the lopsided tilt against a team that normally plays a 2A schedule was still a good tuneup for the rematch with Kennedy.

“We got to do what we wanted to do,” he said. “We were aggressive from the start and put the game away early.

“Our subs played the whole second half and got a lot of good experience. So it was a good game for us.  And we know the game with Kennedy will be a battle.”

WASHINGTON 9, WESTERN DUBUQUE 0

Goals:  Austin Bergstrom, Kimu Kasha, Evan Fisher (2), Flynn Heald, Max Versteegh, Boris Locana-Moreno, Riyad Ajram, Evan Zalesky. Assists: Versteegh, Kasha, Heald, Jacob Jensen, Fisher, Mike Daughtery, Nathan Metzger.

'Max goal' sends Warriors past Kennedy boys, 1-0

Sometimes practice does make perfect.

Thanks to a wonderfully executed play and stifling defense, the Washington boys soccer team defeated Kennedy 1-0 Thursday night at Kingston Stadium.

After a physical opening to the first half, the teams were locked in a defensive stalemate.

But at the 15-minute mark, Warrior forward Jacob Jensen secured the ball and started heading up the left flank towards Kennedy’s goal. Three Warrior players appeared in picturesque position, lined up for a Jensen cross.

The cross kick came from Jensen into the middle of the field, and the ball squeaked through the Kennedy defense. At the last second, Washington player Max Versteegh poked his knee at the ball, and caused it to nonchalantly roll past the helpless goalkeeper.

“I know this sounds cliché, but we actually worked on that exact thing yesterday in practice,” said Washington Coach J.P Graham. “And that is what we call a Max goal. He doesn’t score too many goals with his feet, he scores with his thighs, his chest, his head and he almost had another one in the second half. Well deserved on his part.”

A 1-0 lead was all the Warrior defense needed. After the well-executed score, the stalemate between the two teams continued, and Washington’s defense was air-tight. Kennedy mustered a few shots on goal, including a pretty rip by forward Eric Bertroche near the end of the game.

Bertroche nailed it from nearly 20 yards out, and just when it looked like a tie game, Washington keeper Hunter Loushin stepped in front.

“Our defense did a great job,” said Graham. “Hunter did not have to make too many saves. A couple balls that were up in the air, but no real shots. So we did a good job at eliminating the shots.”

Washington closed out the regular season at 10-7 overall and 9-4 in the MVC. Kennedy is 8-8, 6-7.

WASHINGTON 1, KENNEDY 0

Goals: CRW -- Max Versteegh. Assists: CRW -- Jacob Jensen

Warriors overwhelm Hempstead, 5-0

DUBUQUE -- Boris Licona-Moreno and Kimu Kasha scored two goals apiece to lead No. 16 Washington past Dubuque Hempstead, 5-0, Thursday in boys soccer.

Jacob Jensen also scored a goal for Washington. Austin Bergstrom had a pair of assists.

Washington is 9-7 overall, 8-4 in the MVC.

CR WASHINGTON 5, HEMPSTEAD 0

Goals: CRW -- Boris Licona-Moreno 2, Kimu Kasha 2, Jacob Jensen. Assists: CRW -- Kimu Kasha, Austin Bergstrom 2, Flynn Heald, Daren Mangold