Friday, March 29, 2024

Kodiaks girls soccer next goal is state

Posted

After the Apple Bowl resulted in the Cashmere Bulldogs beating the Cascade Kodiaks 6-5 in penalty kicks, the Kodiaks unfortunately descended to  the no. 2 spot in the league. The girls soccer team had one last game against another set of Bulldogs for the regional playoff. On Tuesday, Oct. 30 the girls played no. 3 Okanogan to determine who would take the final second place within the conference.
    The Kodiaks' had previously taken on Okanogan in the season - both times winning with the Bulldogs leaving the field with 0 on their side of the scoreboard. The Sept. 25 game against Okanogan ended 8-0 and the Oct. 16 game against Okanogan ended with 6-0. The familiarity with the Bulldogs gave the Kodiaks an advantage on knowing how to decipher and asses Okanogan's playing style.
    "Okanogan plays us with a very defensive formation and tactical design," said Cascade's head coach Glen Stefanko. "I honestly wish that we could have seen a stronger attacking mindset from them but it did allow our defenders to form in our attack and they did a wonderful job of it."
    Notably, No. 9, Stella Johnson moved fluidly as a defender. She managed to constantly move up to assist the attack and still managed to remain covering her position. No. 1, Truh Merriman also typically stays playing defense and she was able to find the net twice during the game, which Stefanko attributes to her speed, drive and accuracy.
    "The girls as a whole have made some fantastic life changing commitments recently to drive for excellence. As with any commitment, coming soon down the new path will be an obstacle that challenges resolve. We are training better and stronger than this team has trained all season, now we are figuring out how to translate that to game day. We worked fairly hard but didn’t feel the chemistry that this group has at training."
    Despite the chemistry not being aligned amongst the group, once again the Kodiaks kept the Bulldogs at bay with another win, 3-0. The girls will move on to Lakeside along with the girls volleyball team to determine whether the Kodiaks will move on to state.
    "Our ladies have worked hard for the opportunity at post season so we are heading to lakeside to fit for a state seed on Saturday. We have an amazing amount of potential on this squad and have only shown it a couple times this season," said Stefanko. "As a coach one of our jobs is to provide a platform in which these ladies are able to excel. We will continue to work toward defining the attributes of this team and learning how to exploit our strengths. We have made great strides this season, yet we would all agree we are not quite there yet, soon though, very soon."

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here