Scots’ offensive explosion sinks Kamiak

Shorecrest needed overtime to beat Kamiak in their first meeting this season.

Not this time.

The Scots scored four first half goals and went on to slam the Knights 5-1 Tuesday, April 8 at Kamiak High School.

Junior midfielder Jeremy Novack and senior forward Josh Rudnick scored two goals apiece and junior German exchange student Ruben Balthasar added another.

“They came out with amazing energy tonight,” Shorecrest coach Drew Thompson said. “We’ve been preparing for this game for a couple days. This game, this week and this part of our schedule we’ve been preparing for. They came out great. I was very pleased with them. It was unbelievable how they played tonight, probably our best soccer we’ve played all year.”

Shorecrest struck first in the fifth minute when Novack booted in a left-footed shot from the 18-yard line off a throw-in from Rudnick.

Balthasar followed up with a score from the top of the penalty box in the 12th minute off a cross from Rudnick. Shorecrest midfielder Michael Harris got tripped inside the penalty box in the 26th minute and Rudnick took the penalty kick. Rudnick’s shot was stopped by Kamiak goalkeeper Skylar Waggoner, but Rudnick corralled the rebound and drilled it into the net.

“I miss hit it and thankfully I was able to follow it up and put it in the other side. The keeper made a nice save. I got lucky it came right back to me,” Rudnick said.

Shorecrest continued to pour it on in the 32nd minute when Novack collected the ball near the top of the penalty box fired in a left-footed shot for his second goal.

In the second half, in the 48th minute, Rudnick scored his second goal. After Novack took a shot, Waggoner tried to punch the ball out but a defender collided with him and the ball bounced to Rudnick who knocked in the shot.

Thompson played several substitutes the last 20 minutes of the game. Kamiak avoided the shut out when Brandon George scored a left-footed on an assist from Dylan Gaddy in the 78th minute.

Shorecrest outshot Kamiak 15-2.

Shorecrest is 7-2 in the Western Conference South Division now, in third place, a point back of Shorewood (7-1-1). The crosstown rivals play at 7 p.m. Friday, April 11 at Shoreline Stadium. Shorecrest has bounced back to win five straight after starting 2-2 with losses to Shorewood and Jackson.

“After the first two losses, we changed a couple things in our lineup,” Rudnick said. “We really wanted to just really focus on the intensity and keeping possession and not losing the ball. We worked really hard after the two losses on that and we’ve turned it around since then. We’ve gotten our groove now.”

Shorecrest missed some players in the first half of the season because of injury and academic ineligibility but most everyone is back. Starting midfielder Garrett Musar missed the game due to illness and was replaced at the defensive midfield position by Harris, who has been playing forward.

Shorecrest can’t wait for the rematch with Shorewood, which beat the Scots 2-0 March 14, for the first time since 2000.

“That was our focus tonight was not to focus on Shorewood. Even though everybody is ready for the game. We wanted to bring that Friday intensity into this game and step it up a notch on Friday night,” Rudnick said.

Kamiak fell to 5-3-1 and occupies fourth place.

“We were out of sync pretty much the whole match,” Kamiak coach Garfield Scott said. “And they played well on top of that so that’s the result, that’s what going to happen.”