Fourth time’s the charm for Lightning

SUMNER — Not this time.

Julia Kennedy knew that somehow, someway, this trip to the state final four would end differently for her La Salle Lightning. The junior midfielder wasn’t sure how it would happen, just that they were going to break through after three straight losses in the state final.

La Salle's Savannah Bonny, left center, hugs goalie Chelsea Adkins, yellow, after winning the WIAA 1B/2B State Girls Soccer Championships in Sumner, Wash., Nov. 22, 2008. La Salle defeated Evergreen Lutheran by a final of 1-0. (Ingrid Barrentine/Special to The Yakima Herald-Republic) MORE PHOTOS BELOW

After 90 minutes of soccer and four rounds of a shootout, Kennedy finally got her answer — her own right foot — and she delivered the knockout blow after goalie Chelsea Adkins staggered Evergreen Lutheran with her second shootout save.

Kennedy calmly followed that save by knocking the ball into the right corner of the net to give La Salle a 1-0 victory and its first girls soccer state championship, this one coming in the inaugural Class B tournament at Sunset Chev Stadium.

“This is unbelievable. I can’t explain how happy I am, and how proud I am of my teammates,” Kennedy said. “It’s nice to come back to this stadium and leave with a good memory.”

This was La Salle’s fifth straight final four appearance (the first four in Class 1A-B) and fourth straight trip to the final. However, the past three times have ended in heartbreaking losses, including one in overtime and last year’s in another shootout.

“Each year we’ve gotten closer and closer and now we’ve finally done it,” said Adkins, who capped a stellar tournament with her shootout saves. “It was really frustrating (that we couldn’t score in regulation) but we knew we would pull it out somehow.”

In the shootout, both teams scored in the opening round, with Grace Bender scoring first for the Eagles, and Savannah Bonny, who missed a penalty kick in the first overtime, answering for La Salle.

Adkins then made a save on Lindsay Sandwich’s shot, but Stephanie Wytko’s shot was high.

Both teams scored on their next two shots, Megan Valerio and Kailey Fuegmann for Evergreen Lutheran and Ally Hernandez and Katie Vickers for the Lightning.

Then Adkins came up big one final time. Katelyn Weber tried to go just inside the right post, but Adkins guessed correctly and deflected the shot off the post and it bounced back into the field of play.

“My coaches have taught me to always watch the shooter’s hips to see which direction they’re going,” Adkins said. “I saw her going right and just said, ‘Dear God, please let me save this ball,’”

She did, setting up Kennedy.

“I wanted to drop to my knees and kiss her feet,” Kennedy said of Adkins’ clutch save. “I wasn’t freaking out (at first) but as I walked up there, I was getting a little nervous.”

She didn’t show those nerves, however, as she calmly buried the shot to set of the celebration.

“The confidence my teammates have in me (to go last in the shootout) did it for me,” she said. “They believed in me, so I knew I could do it.”

Kennedy’s shot wiped away years of frustration,

“We’ve worked so hard all year and we just knew we weren’t going to go home losers this time,” Vickers said. “Now, we’re winners. We’re state champions.”

“We didn’t want a replay of years before,” Kennedy said. “Our confidence is not fake. We knew we could do it if we believed in each other — and we did.”

That confidence was certainly tested Saturday as the Lightning (20-1) had one agonizing near-miss after another as they peppered the Eagles with shots, only to be turned back time and again. The frustration peaked early in the irst overtime when Bonny missed a penalty kick that would’ve ended the match,

But they stuck together and reaped the rewards of that cohesion.

“We worked our butts off out there and we knew we’d do it because we play so hard and play together,” said Wytko, the lone senior who endured the past three state disappointments. “We just kept pushing each other and finally, it all came together.”

“We’re all about drama,” said La Salle coach Anne Newell, who could smile about the close calls afterwards. “All year long, we’ve kept plugging along. We’d have liked to win this in regulation … but we’re happy to finally get the result we’ve been striving for.”

First half: No scoring.

Second half: No scoring.

Overtime: No scoring.

Shootout: La Salle 4, Evergreen Lutheran 3. Shootout goals—La Salle, Savannah Bonny, Ally Hernandez, Katie Vickers, Julia Kennedy. Evergreen Lutheran, Grace Bender, Megan Valerio, Kailey Fuegmann.

Saves: Chelsea Adkins (LS) 2, Danielle Thurow (EL) 11.