Cougars punch ticket to state

CEDAR RAPIDS - Ryan Walker could not have picked a better day to make his first goal of the season. Only the weather could have been better for the Cedar Rapids Kennedy sophomore.Playing through a steady downpour and temperatures struggling to find 50 degrees, Walker broke a scoreless tie with 17:32 remaining Saturday to help fifth-ranked Kennedy defeat No. 10 Linn-Mar, 2-0, in a Class 3A substate final at Kingston Stadium.“It's a fantastic moment right now. I can't even explain the feeling I'm feeling right now,” Walker said.“When that ball went through the back of the net, it was crazy.”Sophomore Sameeullah Jung's team-high 10th goal arrived just three minutes later, and goalkeeper Nathan Althoff notched his 10th shutout of the season to send Kennedy (15-3) to the boys' state soccer tournament for the third time in four years.Linn-Mar (13-7) nearly broke through with a goal seven minutes into the game, but Althoff preserved the scoreless first half with a dazzling diving deflection off the foot of Linn-Mar's Aaron House inside the penalty box.“Going into a game with a goalkeeper like that just makes it so much easier,” Walker said.“That save was incredible.I don't think any of our team could believe it.”Walker, who stands 5-foot-3 “on a good day,” has proven to be a dynamic playmaker possessing excellent quickness and instant maneuverability, persuading Kennedy coaches to move him from an attacking midfielder to more and more of a forward role.“We've been defensively very stingy,” said Kennedy Co-Coach Steve Robertson.“One of these things that we wanted to try to do was get a little more offense in the front line, so one of the things was moving Ryan up there.The boys' state soccer tournament begins Thursday in Des Moines.“It's always good to go down to Des Moines,” Robertson said.“That's the goal every year; to get down there, see what you can do.”