Kennedy rally comes up shy in 2-1 loss to Johnston

MUSCATINE - For the first time in five years, the Class 2A championship game won't include Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

The Cougars were first-round foiled Thursday at the girls' state soccer tournament by Johnston, 2-1. If you want to get specific, they were foiled by a flat first half and the fantastic foot of forward Jennifer Ross, whose two first-half goals sent Kennedy home unusually early.

“It's always (tough) to lose a game we could have had if we would have shown up in the first half,” said Kennedy Coach Homer Screws.

Kennedy (13-6) won it all last season, breaking through after three consecutive 2A runner-up finishes. That had to make bowing out in the quarterfinals especially tough to take.

“I think we're just very proud to have gotten here, having graduated such an infamous senior class,” said Kennedy senior defender McKenna Feltes, who scored her team's lone goal on about a 30-yard blast with 14:52 to go. “I guess being here the last four years only helped us."

Johnston (15-5) controlled a lot of the first-half action, with Ross giving her team a 1-0 edge 10 minutes in with a well-placed shot from the penalty area that skimmed the underside of the crossbar. Her goal roughly 13 minutes later was the difference.

Johnston keeper Erica Tucker made a couple of good saves on Kennedy's Katie Helmlinger and Hannah Plagman in the final 10 minutes to preserve the win.

“For them to make it to state five years in a row, and after last year's run, losing the players we lost (to graduation), I respect their effort for getting back to this level,” Screws said. “To be honest with you, I gave us a 50-50 chance of getting back here at the beginning of the season. Because I knew we had so much to overcome.”

The game began about a half hour late because of heavy rain and lightning that hit the area about 4 p.m., an hour before scheduled start.

Here's video of first-half action:

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