Kendall girls seek state soccer playoff berth

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Kendall’s Julie Coble and her Lady Eagle teammates will face Hinsdale in the Section V Class D state qualifier game Tuesday evening at Fillmore.

Looking to earn a berth in the state girls soccer playoffs, Kendall will face Hinsdale in the Section V Class D state qualifier game at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Fillmore.

Kendall, which is 14-5 on the season, advanced by winning the Class D1 championship with a 2-1 victory over Fillmore while Hinsdale, which is 15-4, captured the Class D2 title with a 4-2 win over Andover.

“We are very excited to be playing in the State Qualifier Match on Tuesday,” said Coach Pam Barchet.  “One thing that we did well on Saturday in Finals was that we were able to finish on the few attacking opportunities that we had; as long as we can capitalize on our opportunities on Tuesday and possess the ball as long as possible, we should have a good chance of winning.  Also, the defense played a tremendous game for us on Saturday, especially in the 2nd half.  With this positive momentum, we are very optimistic!!”

The sectional title is the first for Kendall since the Lady Eagles captured back-to-back championships in 2014 and 2015 and is the 11th overall in program history.

Kendall lost in the Section V state qualifier game in both 2014 (2-1 to Avon) and 2015 (1-0 to Cal-Mum).

The Lady Eagles last win in a state qualifier was in 2003 with a 2-1 victory over York. Kendall went on to win the Far West Regional 3-1 over Allegany-Limestone but then bowed in the state semifinals 3-2 to Elmira Notre Dame.

This season Kendall’s underclassmen dominated squad has been led offensively by junior Hailee Mitchell with 26 goals and 3 assists, freshman Grace Levett 11 goals, freshman Alezya Brown 9 goals and 4 assists and sophomore Brianna Wakefield 8 goals and 3 assists.

Junior goalie Katherine Pearson anchors the Lady Eagles defensive unit which includes junior Lizzy Sutphen and freshmen Julie Coble and T’Mia Kitchings.

Hinsdale’s offense is led by senior Kiley Tuttle with 19 goals and 15 assists as junior Ashley Chapman has 10 goals and sophomore Ava Belec  9 goals and 7 assists.

The victor will play in the  Far West Regional on Saturday at Webster Thomas against North Collins which downed Franklinville 3-0 in the Section VI final.

Field Hockey final time changed
Top seeded Barker will face No. 3 Eden in the Section VI Class C field hockey championship game at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Williamsville North. The game was originally scheduled for 7:30 p.m.