Johnston knocks out defending champion Kennedy in girls’ soccer quarterfinals

DES MOINES - Heads turned all over Cownie Soccer Complex to watch Cedar Rapids Kennedy's girls' soccer team dance and shout while warming up for their Class 3A quarterfinal Thursday.

A team that likes to be known for having fun, the 4th-ranked Cougars had a tough time keeping up the energy.

No. 9 Johnston poured on pressure in the opening minutes and was rewarded with an early goal that the defending state champions had trouble recovering from in a 2-1 defeat.

'I think we really got down,” junior defender Anna Frerichs said. 'We wanted to keep up. Our whole thing is positive energy and it really took us out for a little bit, but we got back into it.”

But just a minute after Sydney Hayden nearly tied the score by beating two defenders and putting her shot just over the bar, Johnston (14-6) went up 2-0.

Sam Birmingham deflected a ball through Kennedy keeper Olivia Weigel's legs, then sprinted around her and tapped it in.

Frerichs salvaged a goal for Kennedy (16-4) on a gorgeous free kick in the 73rd minute, but the Dragons were able to hold off any remaining threats and avenge a 1-0 loss from May 23.

'It's always hard to beat a team twice. They got to look at us. They saw what we were capable of,” Kennedy head coach Scott Myers said. 'They played man marking and tried to take our strengths away from us. Credit to them, they did it.”

The Dragons had plenty of chances early, including a fourth-minute header on a corner kick that was subsequently headed off the line. A minute later, Megan Kimrey pounced on a cross to open the scoring.

'We waited awhile to wake up, I think,” Myers said. 'I'm not gonna blame us playing poorly. They played well, and I hope they do well the next game.”

'It doesn't hurt that they're here in town and it's a little bit less of a drive, but that's no excuse. That's on us.”

Possession mostly went back and forth throughout the game, with Johnston holding a slight 14-11 shots advantage.

Johnston coach Matty Smith added an extra holding midfielder to his formation to deal with Kennedy's talented bunch. But the Cougars were without junior Morgan Petsche, who sprained her ankle in Monday's regional final.

'I don't want to use an excuse, but you just don't replace a Morgan. You just don't,” Myers said. 'She's an amazing individual in our midfield and you just don't replace that.”

Smith also pushed his fullbacks forward more in this game than in May, and had high praise for Kennedy afterward.

'Apart from Dowling, they're the best team we've played this year. They're a good side,” Smith said. 'We played really well. We had to, and even then, we were hanging on in the end.”

Four of the Cougars' six seniors will move on to play college soccer, Myers said, after being a part of two state championships in their time at Kennedy.

'I told our seniors the other day that they've left our program better than when they came and that's all you can ever ask for as a player, and it's all you can ever ask for as a coach,” Myers said.

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