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del.icio.usKapaun blows by Heights soccer
BY TAYLOR ELDRIDGE
Wichita Eagle correspondent
It was hard for Kapaun Mount Carmel not to get frustrated in the first half of its soccer game Friday at Heights field.
Blustery winds caused havoc with balls in the air and made it difficult to build an attack heading into the wind.
Throw in a nagging Heights defense that contained the potent attack from the Crusaders, and frustration began to set in.
But instead of letting the frustration become a distraction, the Crusaders released it on Heights the second half. After Caroline Kastor broke the scoreless tie early in the second half, Kapaun poured in four more goals with the wind at its back in a span of nine minutes for a 5-0 victory, setting up a showdown of undefeated teams Tuesday for the CL title against Northwest.
"After we got that first one, I think we played a little more relaxed," Kapaun coach Alan Shepherd said. "In the first half, we were a little frustrated with the wind. Heights did a great job defensively too. We were able to get some more shots off the second half and kind of open them up a little bit."
Kastor started the scoring with a nice turn in the box that she slipped past the keeper to break a scoreless tie with 35:47 remaining.
"JoJo (Palko) is really good bringing it down the goal line," Kastor said. "We just connected and she played me a perfect ball. The defender was really high on me, so I just turned and shot."
Briana Gomez scored the second goal with a nice chip over the keeper for the second goal of the game with 18 minutes left. Lauren Benning, Kastor and Palko each scored goals as well.
Palko's goal didn't come easily though. The senior forward was locked up in a battle with Falcons defender Megan Kassick the entire game.
"I think Megan is a player that doesn't get a lot of recognition on our defense," Heights coach Stephen Parks said. "She's strong, she's physical, she's short. But she plays a great game. I think she did a great job with JoJo today.
"Unfortunately for us, they found a different option. And they found it four times."
Kapaun will now match up with undefeated Northwest in a match that will likely determine the CL champion. Kapaun has won the last four CL championships.
"We've been preparing for it," Kastor said. "Northwest is always really good. This year they've been calling us out a lot, so we're really looking to come out and play in a big game."
| Kapaun (11-2, 7-0) | 0 5 -- 5 |
| Heights (10-4, 4-2) | 0 0 -- 0 |
