Kentwood High’s Kiana Kraft has been a bit hesitant with her shot selection on the soccer pitch this fall.
On Tuesday night at French Field, however, Kraft finally let it rip. The results were pretty much what Kentwood fans have come to expect from the two-time all-league midfielder. The junior standout found the back of the net twice, both times unassisted, scoring in the 57th minute and again in the 79th minute, leading the Conquerors past Kentlake 2-0 in a South Puget Sound League North Division match between top teams.
“I haven’t been taking enough chances when I’ve had the ball,” said Kraft about her third and fourth goals of the season. “Finally, I just decided I was going to shoot it and it paid off.”
The two teams battled to a 0-0 tie in the first half, though Kentwood (4-0-2, 14 points) controlled the flow of the game, keeping Kentlake (4-2-0, 12 points) from getting many good looks on goal.
Kraft’s first score, which came 17 minutes into the second half, was a bolt from 18 yards out. The shot sailed just high enough over the outstretched fingertips of Kentlake goalkeeper Savannah Wood.
The Kentwood junior put the game away with one minute remaining, finding a seam on the right side, then pushing the ball past Wood on the left-side of the goal.
“Everyone has to work until the end,” Kraft said. “It feels good to seal the deal.”
Kentlake, which hasn’t qualified for the postseason since 2003, challenged the Conquerors throughout, but was unable to penetrate the stingy Kentwood defense. The Conquerors have yet to allow a goal through the season’s first six games.
On Tuesday night, that defense was as much a credit to Kentwood’s starting defenders – Madison Fuller, Dana Wareham and Rachel Bindl – as it was the team’s goalkeeping duo of Megan Walburn and Courtney Johnson. Walburn blanked the Falcons in the first half while Johnson did likewise in the second.
“For us to do that (defensively), to basically lock it off and not give them any kind of a hope in the final 15, 20, 25 minutes … that was just awesome,” said Kentwood coach Aaron Radford.
Kentwood has won three of the last four SPSL North titles and entered this season among the favorites. Kentlake, however, opened the season on a four-game winning streak and appears poised to jump into the upper half of the North.
Tuesday night, however, the Kentwood defense wasn’t about to let the Falcons take advantage of anything. The Conquerors outshot the Falcons 25-9. Kentlake’s Wood, though she allowed the two goals, also made solid stops on a handful of point-blank attempts.
During the second half, however, Kentwood tightened up the defense even more, allowing just five attempts, most of which came in the first 10 minutes after the break.
“This is a frustrating one,” said Kentlake coach Kyle Jones. “You have to credit their defense, but you have to discredit our lack of possession … we’re not possessing the ball right now. We work on it over and over and over again, then we get under the big pitch under the lights and it’s like a whole new game.”
With the win, Kentwood remained two points behind Tahoma (5-0-1, 16 points) for first place in the North. The Bears knocked off Auburn Riverside on Tuesday, 1-0. Kentlake fell to fourth place with 12 points, four points ahead of the Ravens (2-2-2, 8 points).
The top three teams from the North earn automatic berths to the district playoffs. The fourth-place finisher from the North has to play in a playoff game to advance to the district tournament.
“All 11 of their players beat all 11 of our players,” Smith said. “I am extremely frustrated and disappointed right now. This isn’t how we train, this isn’t what we’ve set our sites on this season and now we’ve dropped two in a row. I don’t just want to hang in games, I want to win them.”
