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Raytown, MO —
The Blue Springs girls soccer season started with extremely modest expectations. It ended with the Wildcats just 20 minutes and a couple goals away from pulling a Class 3 District 14 stunner over second-ranked Lee’s Summit North.
But after trailing by just one score at halftime in Tuesday’s semifinal at Raytown High School, the Cats never capitalized on their handful of scoring chances and fell 2-0.
Still – for a team that started three freshmen, three sophomores and only one senior – Tuesday’s defeat didn’t conjure any crushing disappointment.
At the start of the season, Blue Springs assistant coach Michael Palermo said the team expected around three to five wins. The Cats’ 8-11-1 mark was considered a significant breakthrough and a hopeful harbinger of a bright future.
Along the way, the Cats garnered three victories over rival Blue Springs South and an upset over Lee’s Summit.
“It’s games like that where we came in and did things that we weren’t supposed to do, those are the little victories that made the season seem better,” senior Bailey Hensley said.
The Cats understood the degree of difficulty of Tuesday’s task. Their strategy was to start out defensively, keep it close for as long as possible and hopefully sneak in a couple goals to pull the upset. After 40 minutes, the plan was working accordingly with the Broncos’ only goal coming via McKenzie Kellogg’s goal in the 12th minute.
“Our coach actually told us at the beginning of the game if it’s 0-0 or 1-0 (at half), they’re the ones getting yelled at,” junior Brittany AuBuchon said. “We will be cheering. It’s good for us to only be down 1-0 because Lee’s Summit North is a great team.”
Blue Springs turned more aggressive in the second half, shifting Hensley upfield and going with a 4-3-3 alignment. Part of that switch was because of the high ankle sprain Hensley suffered last Tuesday against Liberty. She missed the regular-season finale against Blue Springs South, but returned for Monday’s district win over the Jaguars.
Her status was questionable for Tuesday’s match, but she started the contest matching up with North star Allie Stephenson. Stephenson’s constant cutting caused Hensley discomfort and convinced the Wildcat coaches she’d be better served on the other side of the field.
The move generated plenty of chances as Hensley fired five shots on goal in the final 40 minutes.
The Blue Springs girls soccer season started with extremely modest expectations. It ended with the Wildcats just 20 minutes and a couple goals away from pulling a Class 3 District 14 stunner over second-ranked Lee’s Summit North.
But after trailing by just one score at halftime in Tuesday’s semifinal at Raytown High School, the Cats never capitalized on their handful of scoring chances and fell 2-0.
Still – for a team that started three freshmen, three sophomores and only one senior – Tuesday’s defeat didn’t conjure any crushing disappointment.
At the start of the season, Blue Springs assistant coach Michael Palermo said the team expected around three to five wins. The Cats’ 8-11-1 mark was considered a significant breakthrough and a hopeful harbinger of a bright future.
Along the way, the Cats garnered three victories over rival Blue Springs South and an upset over Lee’s Summit.
“It’s games like that where we came in and did things that we weren’t supposed to do, those are the little victories that made the season seem better,” senior Bailey Hensley said.
The Cats understood the degree of difficulty of Tuesday’s task. Their strategy was to start out defensively, keep it close for as long as possible and hopefully sneak in a couple goals to pull the upset. After 40 minutes, the plan was working accordingly with the Broncos’ only goal coming via McKenzie Kellogg’s goal in the 12th minute.
“Our coach actually told us at the beginning of the game if it’s 0-0 or 1-0 (at half), they’re the ones getting yelled at,” junior Brittany AuBuchon said. “We will be cheering. It’s good for us to only be down 1-0 because Lee’s Summit North is a great team.”
Blue Springs turned more aggressive in the second half, shifting Hensley upfield and going with a 4-3-3 alignment. Part of that switch was because of the high ankle sprain Hensley suffered last Tuesday against Liberty. She missed the regular-season finale against Blue Springs South, but returned for Monday’s district win over the Jaguars.
Her status was questionable for Tuesday’s match, but she started the contest matching up with North star Allie Stephenson. Stephenson’s constant cutting caused Hensley discomfort and convinced the Wildcat coaches she’d be better served on the other side of the field.
The move generated plenty of chances as Hensley fired five shots on goal in the final 40 minutes.
“We were kind of bypassing the midfield, just kind of trying to run and gun it, see if we could get a break,” Palermo said.
But Brooke Burris tacked on another goal for North (20-3) in the 47th minute, which Palermo conceded was demoralizing for his club.
“We thought at 1-0, anything can happen – a free kick, a penalty kick, a corner a throw in – and it almost did,” Palermo said. “The second one, we knew it’s tough for us and the girls know we’re probably not going to come back and get two, especially not three, against a team of that quality.
“But we went for it and the didn’t give up,” Palermo said. “And that’s what we were looking at. They were fighting all the way through the whistle.”
North will play the winner of Tuesday’s Raytown-St. Teresa’s Academy match in the championship on Thursday.
Blue Springs head coach Doug McLagan was unavailable for comment after the match.
