Kennedy sneaks past Cedar Falls to continue state title defense

CEDAR RAPIDS – There was only one thing missing for Sydney Hayden in Cedar Rapids Kennedy's run to the Class 3A girls' soccer state championship last season: A goal.

The Cougars' leading scorer each of the last two years didn't score any of her team's nine goals in Des Moines last year, but will get another chance this week.

Hayden netted her 15th goal of the season Monday night at Kingston Stadium to send No. 4 Kennedy back to state with a 1-0 win over Cedar Falls.

'It's definitely a goal of mine,” Hayden said. 'I score during the season, so I want to carry it over into the state tournament when it's the most important. It feels good to help my team in that way.”

The Tigers kept the regional final scoreless in the first half, but Kennedy got its winner early in the second.

Midfielder Alyssa Drewelow pounced on a ball on the left side of the field, took a couple dribbles and fired it into the box, where Hayden ran onto it and tapped it in in the 43rd minute.

'I saw her dribbling down and I knew she'd be looking for me,” Hayden said.

'I knew I needed to hit Sydney because she's always ready back post,” Drewelow said. 'She's always there and reliable, so I knew that was a good place to put it.”

Just a minute later, Carley Cross got in behind the Kennedy defense and rocketed a shot to the far post, but Olivia Weigel laid out for a diving save to preserve the shutout.

The Cougars largely controlled possession from there as the Tigers tired.

For Cedar Falls, it was a terrific effort against a team that had outscored them 19-1 in the last three meetings, including a 3-0 result May 19.

'Credit to Cedar Falls,” Kennedy head coach Scott Myers. 'They did a really good job of playing their game plan and making it difficult for us. They're very well-coached, very good kids.

'We worked hard to get through what we had to get through. It wasn't our best, but you've got to dig sometimes. You've got to make it right.”

Both teams had decent chances in the first half, with the Tigers' best opportunity coming on Ally Zierke's breakaway in the 10th minute. Once again, Weigel came to the rescue, in total making four saves on the night.

The Cougars had four shots on goal in the first half, but felt their best soccer was absent in the first 40 minutes.

'We just had a bad half, but I knew we had it in us to come out strong in the second half,” Hayden said. ”I think we were a little more nervous this game and it played into how we played a little bit. But we knew we could do it so we kept playing hard.”

Kennedy (16-3) opens the state tournament with Johnston (13-6) at 5:15 p.m. Thursday. Last year's title has not been a topic of discussion.

'We've not at all talked about winning any game this year,” Myers said. 'There's no pressure on us right now. We just want to have fun.”

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