Regina shuts out Columbus in state semifinals for first title game appearance

DES MOINES — The Iowa City Regina girls' soccer team earned a berth in the Class 1A state championship game for the first time in its history. And would you believe it — it was the defense that stood front and center.

The No. 2-ranked Regals shut out No. 3 Waterloo Columbus, 1-0, in Friday's semifinal played in 93-degree heat at high noon. Regina plays No. 1 Davenport Assumption (16-2-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday for the title.

'It's so great to play with these seniors and to give them a last game that could possibly be a state championship,' sophomore Lauren Gaarde said.

Regina had grown accustomed to controlling possession, thus sparing its defense a lot of physical and mental strain. But the Sailors, who lost to Regina, 4-0, in the second game of the year, came out ready to roll and at the very least held possession half the game.

'When it comes to state time, everybody is ready and it's always going to be a battle,' center back Kennedy Brown said. 'We knew this was going to be a close game, so we knew we had to step up. With 1-0, it was stressful, but you know what? We pulled through.'

Brown saved a number of attacks by cutting off crosses, clearing the ball from the box amid several players or just stealing the ball from the offensive player. Greyson Dumont also had a key save in the second half, and the whole back line combined to help goalie Megan Wick.

'They went out wide and tried to beat our wide defenders and they crossed it in a lot,' Dumont said of the Columbus attackers.

Coach Ann Larew said Dumont has made great progress through the season, transforming herself into a more confident player with a good sense of the game.

'Greyson's right in front of me,' Brown said. 'Grey's there to battle through it, and when she gets beat, it's up to me to figure it out,' Brown said. 'So basically we were working as a unit.'

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'Kennedy is a remarkable athlete, and she is also such a smart soccer player,' Larew said. 'Our defenders (also including Anna Ziniel, Cammy Verducci and Morgan Parthemore) are all very good. But if they don't work together as a team or communicate, then it's for naught.'

The Regals' lone goal came in the 34th minute on a counter attack by Gaarde, her second goal of the tournament.

The game was stopped for at least 30 minutes midway through the second half when Columbus's Elinor Smith was injured. She was taken to a hospital as a precaution. Players stretched and jogged to stay loose.

'We didn't want it to take us out of our mentality,' Gaarde said. 'We wanted to stay intense and focused.'