No. 1 Kennedy hangs on to beat Valley after an adventurous day

DES MOINES – Cedar Rapids Kennedy's scoresheet Thursday evening might need an amendment.

Somewhere, the school's baseball team is due an assist.

The top-ranked girls' soccer team was cruising down Interstate 80 en route to the state tournament when a tire popped and the bus pulled to the side of the road. As fate would have it, the Cougars' baseball bus was following for a doubleheader at West Des Moines Valley. It swung by to pick up the stranded almost an hour after the flat and deliver them to Cownie Soccer Complex.

'We went on a little safari today,' Kennedy Coach Scott Myers said, sporting his brand new straw hat.

If any team was prepared for the lack of routine, it was the Cougars, a squad that likes to keep things fun and light anyway. Iowa's lone unbeaten team (20-0) built a 3-0 halftime lead and held off No. 14 West Des Moines Valley, 3-2, in the Class 3A quarterfinals.

'A lot of teams would have just been, oh, our life is over, but no, we joke a little bit, laugh a little bit and that's the key,' Myers said.

Clearly the Cougars, who meet Mississippi Valley Conference foe Iowa City West in Friday's semifinals, weren't rattled.

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One of nine experienced senior starters opened the scoring for Kennedy and in the process, opened her state tournament account. Sydney Hayden beat her defender to the end line for a Morgan Petsche ball, cut back and blasted it off the hands of the goalkeeper.

In four previous state tournament games, the forward hadn't found the net. That's why her 19th goal of the season and 55th of her career is a big deal.

'It felt good to come out right away and give us that push to know that we were gonna come out strong in this game and that we could do it,' Hayden said.

'She said the other day, 'I don't really care about scoring, as long as we're winning,'' Myers said. 'I know she has that mentality, but also at the same time, I know she wants to score because she likes being a leader on the team.'

Kennedy kept the pressure on. In the 11th minute, Kenadeee Dekko stripped a Valley defender at the corner of the 18, turned and drilled a shot over the keeper's head.

The Cougars added another in the 39th minute when Kasey Dekko won a ball in the box and played it back to Alissa Waterhouse for the finish.

'We knew that it was going to be really hot out here, so we knew if we came out and provided a lot of pressure on their defense, and just ran at them a lot that they would get tired,' Hayden said.

The win did not come without a few nervy moments.

This is only the second game Kennedy has let in more than one goal this season. The other: May 21, at West Des Moines Valley, also a 3-2 victory.

Myers wanted to get his young players state-tournament experience. Libby Helverson took advantage, scoring on breaks in the 75th and 79th minutes.

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Nursing a one-goal lead with 1:38 to go, the freshmen stayed on the field.

'We told our bench at 10 minutes we were going to stick with it no matter what. No more subs,' Myers said.

'Some people say you gamble by doing it, but we have nine seniors. We need some freshmen with experience.'

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