SUMNER – In a tightly-contested game with scoring chances at a premium, one had the feeling that the first team to find the breakthrough was going to prevail.
Unfortunately for the Kamiak Knights, it was their opposition that found it.
Todd Beamer’s Sean Davis scored on a free kick with 13 minutes remaining, and the Knights saw their season come to an end with a 1-0 loss Tuesday night in the first round of the Class 4A state boys soccer playoffs.
“We had some good spurts, and then some spurts we probably could have done a bit better,” Kamiak coach Garfield Scott said. “But I don’t want to take anything away from Beamer because they played well, too.”
Beamer (15-1-3), the No. 3 seed from District 2, advanced to face Federal Way in the quarterfinals.
Kamiak, the No. 2 seed from District 1, ended its season 12-5-1.
“We overcame a lot,” Kamiak senior defenseman Erik Olsoy said. “We lost a lot of key guys from last year and it took us a while to figure out where everyone was playing and bond as a team. But once we bonded, we played pretty well, and we had as good a chance as they did to get to the state quarterfinals, so I don’t think anybody can call that a disappointing season.”
Davis scored in the 67th minute when, on a free kick from the top of the penalty box, he curled his shot into the right corner to give the Titans the lead.
From there Kamiak desperately tried for the equalizer and created a series of chances, the best coming when Zachary Harris’ cross ended up hitting off the crossbar and bouncing down on the goal line before being cleared away. But the Titans were able to hold on.
“I thought we’d get that tying goal,” Kamiak senior forward Kyle Benson said. “We had one hit off the post and hit on the line, we had a bunch of opportunities. We just didn’t catch them right on and put it in the back of the net.”
Harris, Kelly Haugen and Robert Hawes had other chances toward the end, but either shot wide or were beaten away by Titans goalkeeper T.J. Young.
“It was a stressful one, they’re a good team,” Beamer coach Adam Kulass said. “We struggled getting started, but we just started clicking in the second half, getting a little more offense.”
That second-half offense came after the Titans moved Davis, their leading scorer, forward after playing a deep midfield position in the first half. Though there were few chances in the first half, the best ones fell to the Knights. But Kamiak couldn’t capitalize. Then the Titans began to gain control after Davis’ position move.
“Our team has been built around solid teamwork all year,” Olsoy said. “We kind of rely on scoring first and playing well as a team to hold them off. But once they scored, we didn’t quit and created some chances at the end. But sometimes heart doesn’t win the game, and they had plenty of heart, too.”
Chances were few and far between during a scoreless first half in which the ball rarely penetrated the penalty box. The best chance fell to Beamer with two minutes remaining. Off a free kick the ball was headed into the goal mouth to Zach Hoffman, whose looping header from in close got over Kamiak goalkeeper Syklar Waggoner, but also drifted over the crossbar.
Otherwise, the best opportunities came from Kamiak. In the 15th minute Haugen blazed over after he and Benson hustled the ball off the Beamer defense. Then in the 33rd minute Benson was played into space on the right, but fired wide from the edge of the penalty box.
In the second half the Titans moved Davis the momentum changed. Beamer had a great chance in the 43rd minute when, on a free kick from the edge of the box, Brennan Hall’s shot was spilled by Waggoner. Erik Lissak followed up on the rebound, but Waggoner smothered and held the follow-up.
After Davis scored, Kamiak had a slew of chances to tie it. Haugen got a clean look in transition he was denied by Young. Later the ball fell to Harris inside the penalty box, but he scuffed his shot wide. Harri’s cross-turned shot was Kamiak’s best chance with just over a minute remaining. Then with the final seconds counting off Hawes volleyed a shot from 30 yards out that just missed curling in at the post.
At Sunset Chev Stadium
Goals-Todd Beamer: Davis. Goalkeepers-Kamiak: Waggoner; Todd Beamer: Young.
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