They’d been waiting for this match-up all season. Matter of fact, the Kentwood Conquerors even waited almost an extra month for it.
When the day finally arrived, they delivered their best 80 minutes of play so far this spring.
“Coach always tells us, ‘It’s not the next game, it’s this game.’ Finally, it was this game,” said junior forward Conner Biggs, who scored the first goal on Tuesday night as Kentwood blanked Jefferson in a showdown of South Puget Sound League North Division boys soccer powers at French Field, 2-0.
“We were ready,” Biggs added.
Now, instead of looking up at the team that Conquerors coach Aaron Radford and practically everyone else tabbed as the division favorite, it’s Kentwood that is in control of the North standings. The victory pushed its record to 8-1-1 with 25 points, with TJ sitting in second at 6-2-2 and 20 points.
Both teams have four games left. For the Conquerors, that included a rematch on Friday night against Tahoma, the team which scored twice during the last five minutes on March 31 for a 3-2 victory in a game that was delayed multiple times by lightning and finished on a hail-covered surface at French.
Their docket also includes a rematch against Jefferson on April 30 at Federal Way Stadium. That’s the game which was supposed to be played on March 28, but was postponed because the field was blanketed with snow.
“You don’t look at any opponent as a lesser team. But they’ve been looking forward to this,” Radford said. “I picked TJ as the top team (in preseason), and our team knew that. We’ve been ready to play it and see how well we can match up against the challenge.”
After an opening 40 minutes of punch and counterpunch – each side got off eight shots, including one each that could have found the back of the net, but didn’t – the Conquerors came out and controlled the run of play through the opening stages of the second half.
Ironically, it wasn’t on the attack, but rather on a quick counterattack that they got on the board. Jefferson had just missed a chance to take the lead when a shot by Cody Harris from the top of the box slid barely wide of the left post.
Then, as the Raiders were trying to head back downfield after the ensuing goal kick by Kentwood keeper Mitch Pombrio, Biggs swiped the ball just over midfield and flew wide-open down the left wing side. He took it into the box and let fly with a low sizzler from about 14 yards away that zipped into the far corner at 59:36 for his second goal of the season.
Jefferson nearly tied it right at the start of the 66th minute when a long throw-in from the left side deep in Kentwood territory was headed toward the upper right V. Pombrio leaped just in time to deflect it away.
Less than two minutes later, the Conquerors sealed the deal. A three-man break down the field was thwarted by the Raiders, but Bryan Carlson held the ball in on the left side. He crossed it all the way over to Andrew Wright, who was alone inside the box on the right wing. Wright launched a riser that went way into the upper left corner, well beyond the reach of TJ keeper Adam Duke.
By the final whistle, Kentwood had handed the Raiders just their second shutout of the season, and Pombrio had his seventh. He also has shared two shutouts with Rodney Greiling.
“I’m enjoying that one more than the rest,” Pombrio said. “The defense is doing well — I don’t have to stop many balls.”
• ALSO: Tahoma (5-2-4, 5-2-6) collected its third straight win on Tuesday, fending off Kent-Meridian, 2-1. Ryan Chase broke a 1-1 tie in the 67th minute with a goal on an assist from James Schmidt. Bryan Cackette also scored for the Bears. … Kentlake (5-4-2, 5-5-3) dropped its second straight decision on Tuesday, falling to Federal Way, 4-0.
