Kennedy, the leaders in the tough Mississippi Division of the Mississippi Valley Conference, took a big step to becoming the 2009 MVC Champions with its 1-0 win over cross-town rival Cedar Rapids Washington. The win also sewed up the Cedar Rapids Metro title for the Cougars - something they have not earned, along with a MVC title since the 2004 campaign.
The game was played on the hard, choppy surface at Jones Park and it may have been a contributing factor, along with the hard play from the Warriors, that saw Kennedy play a sub-par match. From the opening kick, for the most part, the Cougars could not put together any of their patented quick-passing, possession-oriented offense and let Washington dominate the play for the most part. Although, in the fourth minute, senior Reid Galbraith won a ball and found junior Phil Vermie running in behind the Washington defense. His pass was perfectly weighted and Vermie had a one-on-one with the Warrior goalkeeper. Unfortunately, Vermie missed the target wide left and the early opportunity was wasted.
While the Warriors dominated the possession and the play, the Cougars defense did not allow them many good scoring chances. The best one came in the 16th minute when a shot from distance hit a bump in front of senior goalkeeper Tyler Sievertsen right as he was collecting the ball. The ball rebounded and came out right in front of the goal, but Sievertsen recovered quickly and snuffed out the rebound shot and the ball squirted just wide of the post.
The Cougars would periodically put together a string of passes and cut right through the Warrior defense. That is what lead to a Kennedy corner kick in the 35th minute. Vermie took the corner and placed it well, right at the top of the six-yard box. The ball squirted through a group of players and deflected towards goal. The ball was flicked high in the air on the clearance off the line, and headed towards senior Pat Montag, who was sitting just to the left of the penalty spot. Montag, trying to get to the ball before the defense could close on him, decided to go airborne and hit an incredible bicycle kick. The ball went over the top of two Washington defenders that were on the goal line and into fell into the top left corner of the goal, giving the visitors the lead, 1-0. The remainder of the half ended much like the previous 35 minutes with Washington with the better part of the play and Kennedy defending and not allowing any quality chances on goal.
The second half was played mostly like the first half. Washington had the possession, but the Cougars kept them at bay. The Warriors generated a couple of scoring chances, but they were thwarted by Sievertsen and the Kennedy defense. A last ditch corner kick was punched out by Sievertsen and the Cougars held on for the win, 1-0.
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| Photo by Jim Slosiarek/The Cedar Rapids Gazette |
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