West brushes past Kennedy, 2-0, for all-I.C. 3A final

[gallery link="file" orderby="ID"]

DES MOINES - They had such an easy time of it in their first game at the state soccer tournament Thursday. Their starting goalkeeper and best forward were subbed out early and able to take a restroom break and chat with fans on an opposing field at Cownie Park.

Things weren't nearly that easy Friday in their Class 3A semifinal, but the Iowa City West Trojans were still able to come away with a victory. They always do.

A goal from Tanner Schilling (the aforementioned best forward) in the fifth minute of the second half ended a scoreless dual and proved to be enough to give defending champ West its 31st straight win, 2-0, over Cedar Rapids Kennedy. A goal in the dying seconds by Kit Weaver made the score of this well-played contest a little deceiving.

It's an all Iowa City final Saturday at 5 with West (21-0) facing surprising Iowa City High (13-7). The Little Hawks, the tourney's seventh seed, outlasted third-seeded West Des Moines Valley in the other 3A semifinal, a day after ousting second-seeded Ankeny.

“Honestly, winning never gets old,” said Schilling, whose team is 21-0 this season. “I don't think we're ever too worried about (getting complacent). It's state, everyone's here, your record really doesn't matter any more. Everyone wants the same thing, and we're here to get it.”

Schilling took a nice through ball from teammate Nick Arpey near the penalty box, stopped a couple strides inside the upper left corner, turned and fired a curving rocket that beat Kennedy goalkeeper Ben Feltes.

“Me and him, we've been playing together since we were little,” Schilling said of Arpey. “We usually know where each other is (on the field). It's nice to be able to play with him his senior year.”

The Cougars (16-5) had their best chance around 10 minutes later, with a scramble off a corner kick resulting in a loose ball at the side of the goal. But West cleared it away before any Kennedy player could put it away.

“I kind of had the feeling today that the first goal would win the game,” said West Coach Brad Stiles, whose team beat Kennedy in the regular season, 2-1. “I was counting on us being the team to score it.”

“Their guy finished one, and we left one on the goal line,” said Kennedy Co-Coach Steve Robertson. “We kept fighting. That's sports. A lot of times you give it your best and you still come up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.”

The last West loss, by the way, was May 2, 2009 against Kennedy. This is the fourth consecutive year the Trojans have been in the state finals.

They've won four titles overall (a state record).

“It definitely doesn't get old,” said West midfielder Will Hirsch, the Trojans' only four-year starter. “It's a different group of guys every year. But it's still very exciting every year.”