Kentridge and Kentwood draw 1-1 in wet and windy matchup

Over the last 10 matchups between Kentridge and Kentwood girls soccer, the two sides are tied 13-13. In the battle of 4A Kent schools, they couldn’t be separated once more in their lone regular season matchup this year, ending with a draw 1-1 on Oct. 10.

“When you play for each other, and you support each other and trust each other, it’s a team show. One supports the middle, one supports the back, and one supports the front. You score together, defend together. Win together and lose together,” said Kentwood Head Coach Scott Gibb.

Kentridge entered the matchup with the better record, and in the first half, played like it. Early on, they possessed the ball and controlled the game. Inside the first 10 minutes, the Chargers scored first. Seemingly all on her own, senior Ella Schug had the ball at her feet and took it all the way down the left sideline. After a couple of dribbles toward the middle, she took a shot and scored for the Chargers from 20 yards out.

That was it for the first half — neither side could get many opportunities from that point until the halftime whistle.

In the second half, Kentwood looked like a different team. There was so much energy and focus on executing the task at hand. The Conks would employ subs every seven minutes to keep fresh legs on the pitch.

“(We were) taking care of the ball and exploiting when we could,” Gibb said.

All the pressure and energy led to Kentwood creating many opportunities. The Conks had multiple corners and forced junior keeper Alexis Natividad to make saves.

“It showed the maturation of soccer IQ of our senior. Some of these players play club ball at a high level so they know when there is an adjustment. They know on the fly whether we draw it up or we talk about it. We know what’s expected,” Gibb said.

The two sides battled the elements as well, as wind and rain kicked in throughout the second half. For a rivalry game, that just added to the tension.

“These are the games you want to play,” Gibb said.

Kentridge came inches away from putting the game on ice. A corner kick found the head of Schug, who hit the post. The ball bounced off two Conks and even looked ever so close to crossing the line, but the call on the field was no goal.

Wild sequence here for Kentridge, I think refs got it right on the field.

Score stays 1-0 KR pic.twitter.com/EA7ne23pQt

— Ben Ray (@bigplaybenray) October 11, 2023

The game tying goal came in stoppage time, after the referee took control of the clock inside of 2:00.

After a no call on a foul in the Kentwood zone, the Conks took the ball all the way up the field. Charger midfielder Haley Swanson picked up a yellow card, granting Kentwood a free kick 30 yards away.

Junior Tori Loso sent a ball into the box and it took a carom off of a Charger defender for the score. “We called that the aka Loso special,” Gibb said.

LATE NIGHT DRAMA

Kentwood finds a late one‼️I believe it was Avery Tkach finding the back of the net.

1-1 in stoppage time pic.twitter.com/uZr57YqZPm

— Ben Ray (@bigplaybenray) October 11, 2023

Initially it looked like Avery Tkach was able to redirect the ball, but it was confirmed later by Gibb that Loso was credited as the goal scorer.

The Chargers have a tough game against league-unbeaten Tahoma before closing out against Decatur and Mount Rainier to end their season.

Kentwood just got out of its self-described gauntlet of their season facing Jackson, Tahoma and Kentridge. Last season the Conks took down Kentridge en route to a state tournament appearance.

“You go to Kentridge, Tahoma, Kentwood, it’s just like the PAC-3 with UW, USC and Oregon. Someone is going to get knocked out. Today we took points away. Hopefully it doesn’t knock anyone out. But it helps us,” Gibb said.

To keep this momentum going, Kentwood has to play smart and do what they are meant to do: “We have 10 seniors. Whether they are role players or starters, they know what’s expected,” Gibb said.