Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Reardan freshman Mackenzie Bjornberg tries to fight the ball away from the Highland defense. Reardan fell to Highland in the state B quarterfinals Saturday, Nov. 13.
COWICHE-Reardan soccer's Cinderella-like run into the state B soccer playoffs came to an end in the quarterfinals against No. 3 seed Highland 2-1 Saturday, Nov. 13 in the Yakima Valley area.
The team finished its season 10-8-1 after making the playoffs for the first time in the schools' two seasons of existence.
"It was a pretty spirited game," Reardan head coach Brian Scott said. "It was a lot of fun, other than being on the losing side."
The teams played a scoreless match for 24 minutes before sophomore Rachel Keller put Highland up 1-0. Reardan hit the crossbar on a shot that would've tied the match, and the Scotties led 1-0 at halftime.
Highland then extended its lead to 2-0 on Keller's second goal. Reardan would get a stoppage time goal by freshman Mackenzie Bjornberg that was assisted by freshman Noelle Raczykowski, but the visitor's second-half intensity was unable to create another upset.
"In the second half we turned it up a notch," Scott said. "I was happy with the way our team played, but the fortune didn't fall our way, which is the way it goes sometimes."
Highland advanced to the state semifinals for a date with No. 2 Kalama this weekend.
"This is the first time I as a coach have been to the Final Four," Highland head coach Nikki Keller said. "It was a scare at the very end, but we came out victorious."
Scott would've considered a .500 season a success this year, so making the state playoffs exceeded expectations, he said.
"The girls realized they belong in whatever competition they faced," Scott said. "Even against Highland, we looked like we were supposed to be there."
Reardan had three players (Raczykowski, Ayden Krupke and Madalyn Dewey) make the all-NE2B First Team. Scott also sang the praises of Bjornberg, Elise Cox and his two goalkeepers, Jazmine Handley and Jaylee Abrahamson.
"Those girls all made a really big difference," he said.
Next year, Scott hopes to have a few more girls join the team and teach more technical terms. He graduates six seniors, but expects to return influential pieces like Raczykowski, Cox, Bjornberg, Abrahamson and Handley.
Scott also sent his thanks to Davenport head coach Monty Soliday and the Reardan community for their support of a fledgling program that has already made the state playoffs in the first calendar year of the team's existence.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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