Kendall girls seek berth in state playoffs

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Kendall’s Maya Rutland and her Lady Eagle teammates will face Avon Wednesday at Hilton for the Section V Class C berth in the state playoffs.

Looking to keep the momentum from Friday’s thrilling double overtime Class CC title victory, the Kendall girls soccer team now takes aim at earning the Section V Class C berth in the state playoffs as the Lady Eagles will face Avon at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton.

Genesee Region League Division 1 champion Kendall, which is 17-1-1, advanced through the CC playoffs with shutout wins in both the quarterfinals (6-0 over No. 7 Campbell -Savonna) and the semifinals (3-0 over No. 6 Warsaw) and a 2-1 double OT win over top seeded Caledonia-Mumford in the finals.

“We’re definitely peaking at the right time,” said Coach Pam Beres. “The end of the regular season in the game against Holley (a 2-0 Kendall win) we really turned it on and we’re carrying it on.”

“Defensively we played great Friday and if we can continue to play strong defensively like that and capitalize on our scoring opportunities when we get them we should do well,” added Beres.

Offensively the Lady Eagles are led by Maya Rutland (28 goals, 6 assists), Taylor ReQua (11 goals, 15 assists) and Taylor Rutland (6 goals, 7 assists) while goalie Jenna Jacob anchors the defense.

Avon, which upended Byron-Bergen 2-1 for the Class CCC title, edged Class C champ York 3-2 on Monday to open the state qualifier series.

Avon brings a 15-4-1 record into the qualifier as the Lady Braves have won 11 in a row after a 4-4-1 start to the season.

The Avon offense is led by the duo of Abigail Keenan (19 goals, 8 assists) and Kali Mouw (16 goals, 14 assists).

The winner will advance to the Class C Far West Regional against Section VI representative Holland at 3 p.m. Saturday at Webster Thomas High School.