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River to play for 3A title

By Paul Danzer, Columbian Soccer, hockey and Community Sports Reporter
Published: November 21, 2009, 12:00am

Chieftains score late tying goal, advance on penalty kicks

LAKEWOOD — For a few minutes on Friday it appeared the Columbia River girls soccer team had forgotten to bring its magic to the state semifinals.

Dominating

Despite dominating the game against West Valley of Yakima, the Chieftains were down a goal and time was running short.

“There was a little bit of panic on the field,” River senior Hannah Kimsey said. “But we pretty much got our composure and got it done.”

Kimsey scored the tying goal with less than 10 minutes to play in regulation, then converted the a penalty kick to help the Chieftains win a tiebreaker and advance to today’s Class 3A state championship match with a 2-1 victory. Columbia River, which has won 10 consecutive matches, will play Mercer Island at 2 p.m. today for the title at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood.

After the teams tied at 1 through the 80-minute match plus 10 overtime minutes, River goalkeeper Teagan Ryan came up big. Ryan, who did not make a save during the match, blocked the first two West Valley penalty kicks in the tiebreaker, providing the margin of victory. She made a diving stop on one and held her ground for the other.

“There are little tricks you can do,” Ryan said of her approach to penalty kicks. “But, really, there’s no way of telling which way they are going. I just wait for the last second and hope I can get there.”

Brittany Landon, Brianna Brown, and Kimsey converted PKs for the Chieftains.

They wouldn’t have had that chance if not for a well-executed corner kick as the clock ticked under 10 minutes to play.

Kellianne Swenson’s in-swinger from the right corner found Kimsey six yards in front of goal, and she headed the ball past diving goalkeeper Lee Hanses with 9:44 to play.

“I’d just gotten poked in the eye, so I couldn’t see out of my left eye,” Kimsey said. “It was kind of lucky, but I’m just glad it went in.”

That kind of fortune has followed the Chieftains through these playoffs. But for much of this semifinal, the luck seemed against them.

In the first half, forward Robin McGuire — who leads the team in goals this postseason — left with a knee injury.

Midway through the second half, West Valley forward Haley Curtis gained enough of an advantage to turn a rare counter-attack from the Rams into a goal by converting a shot from near the top of the 18-yard box.

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“They have one really good forward who just fought her way through our defense, and she had pretty much a one on one,” Ryan said.

But this wasn’t a one-and-done deal for River.

“That’s the sign of a team that’s digging deep, and I’m very proud of them,” Columbia River coach Colleen McKinney said.

McKinney accurately said her team was the better side on Friday.

“I truly feel like the best team won. I don’t mean to be disrespectful (to the Rams), but I thought our girls played amazingly well,” McKinney said. “They fell a little bit into that rut of not finishing (shots) from early in the season, But, I think it also shows how much we’ve grown.”

That growth has carried the Chieftains, who finished third in their own league, on a magical run clear into the state championship game.

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Columbian Soccer, hockey and Community Sports Reporter