MARYLAND HEIGHTS – Near-miss sighs became the soundtrack of the second half of the season for the Kirkwood girls soccer team.
The talented Pioneers did not score a goal in regulation time in six of their final seven games, despite earning glorious opportunities in each contest.
“Our biggest issue has been finishing on our chances. We’ll be dominating, we’ll be on the top of the box, but we just can’t make that last step,” senior midfielder Drue Gaal said.
Kirkwood released its pent-up offensive frustrations on Saturday.
Gaal led a dominant performance in the midfield and senior Anna Newland scored two goals and added an assist to propel Kirkwood to a 9-1 victory over Hazelwood West in a Class 4 District 2 quarterfinal at Pattonville High School.
Kirkwood (9-9), the No. 3 seed, advanced to face No. 2 St. Joseph’s (19-1) in a district semifinal at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Pattonville High.
Hazelwood West (17-5) ended the season with its best record since 2010, when the Wildcats went 25-2.
Kirkwood began the game with the same near-misses that had recently plagued them. A cross from senior Quinn Nauman found the foot of senior Brooke Bendoff, but her shot was deflected away by the goalie gloves of Hazelwood West senior Aubree Greco.
On the ensuing corner kick, a shot by senior Marin Vines pinged off the crossbar.
But the Pioneers kept coming in waves as Vines, Gaal and junior Sophia Mueller won 50-50 balls in the midfield and quickly sent Kirkwood back into the attacking third.
In the 13th minute, Mueller sent a 25-yard pass towards the back post where Newland extended her right foot and volleyed it into the back of the net to put Kirkwood on the scoreboard.
“Sophia is really good at swinging it across with her left (foot), so I tried to anticipate that and finish on it,” Newland said. “Earlier in the year, we had the same opportunity and I didn’t finish on it, so my goal was to run in there and be there just in case, and it went in.”
But the floodgates did not open.
Kirkwood earned nine corner kicks in the opening 20 minutes but could not cash in with a goal.
Additionally, the defensive positioning of Hazelwood West created offsides violations for the eager Pioneers’ attack, and the game remained 1-0 into the 25th minute.
Then, Newland discovered the remedy, sending a through-ball with perfect pace that senior Grace Griffin ran onto and deposited into the back of the net for a two-goal lead.
“They were playing a very high line which I realized we could get some runs through,” Newland said. “I got in the middle, I had time to look, and I saw Grace was ready to run. I just tried to get her a good ball in, and it worked out.”
For the first 30 minutes, the Hazelwood West defense, led by freshman Jada Wynne, junior Kenedee Rainbolt and junior Isabelle Rogers, thwarted most of Kirkwood’s scoring chances. But the combination of a humid day, a lack of possession time and a minimal number of substitutes began to take the bite out of a stingy Wildcats’ defense.
“We don’t have a lot of depth and when you play on turf on a hot day, it takes its toll,” Hazelwood West coach Mike Black said.
In the final eight minutes, a goal by Bendoff off a stellar cross by junior Lydia Sachs, a 30-yard boot into the top corner by Nauman, and a penalty kick by Vines gave Kirkwood a 5-0 cushion at intermission.
“I thought our girls did a great job of pressing forward, moving the ball quickly, getting crosses and attacking forward on the goal,” Kirkwood coach Jordan Sabotic said.
Black had a simple request for the Wildcats as they replenished their energy between halves.
“At halftime, I said, ‘I want a goal,’” Black said.
Forty seconds into the second half, they granted his wish when junior Emma Sever and sophomore Taylor DeDeaux executed a perfect give-and-go in the midfield. It sprung Sever ahead of the Kirkwood defense and she placed a beautiful goal inside the far post that sliced the deficit to 5-1.
“I know (DeDeaux) is quick with the ball so I screamed, ‘Give and go,’ and she knew exactly what I was putting down,” Sever said. “I knew a (defender) was coming up behind me, so I just shot the ball.”
Sever was a freshman center-back on a young Hazelwood West team that went 1-13 in 2021. She credits that season of struggle for setting the foundation for a 17-win season this year.
“I think losing that much makes you want to improve together and that’s what we did,” said Sever, who led the Wildcats with 21 goals. “It’s been nice growing with these girls.”
Junior Isabelle Rogers contributed 19 goals for a Hazelwood West team that will return 10 starters next year.
After 15 corner kicks that did not result in a goal, Sachs took matters into her own hands for Kirkwood. She delivered a boot from the corner flag that curved directly into the goal and began a four-goal surge for the Pioneers in the second half.
“I was trying to cross it, but Coach (Sabotic) always says she’d rather us shoot it than not, so it worked out,” Sachs said.
The nine goals were the most scored by Kirkwood in a game since 2019, and the vision of shots meeting twine arrived at the perfect time.
“Just getting the ball in the back of the net (Saturday) is a good confidence boost for us going forward,” Sabotic said.
Gaal added, “We have to continue to have the mindset that scoring nine goals is possible.”
