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By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Not much went right for Kickapoo in the first 50 minutes against Lee’s Summit West.
The Titans, leading 2-0, lined up for a penalty kick in the 54th minute. Any hopes for a Kickapoo comeback rested on Chloe Young.
Unlike all those frustrating drills in practice, Kickapoo’s senior goalkeeper guessed right this time.
“I can’t save a single PK in practice, so it’s crazy that I saved one in a game,” Young said. “I just try to watch for the tells and I read it. That’s all I can do.”
Young’s PK save fueled a late Kickapoo rally, but the Lady Chiefs ultimately fell 2-1 to Lee’s Summit West on Saturday afternoon in the Class 4 quarterfinals.
“That’s the best team we’ve played all season, hands down,” said Kickapoo coach Phil Hodge. “They’re athletic all over the field, really good soccer players and they’re experienced.
“Our kids didn’t quit and they found a way to make it interesting in the end. I was really proud of their effort. We’ve had a heck of a season.”
Kickapoo did not go down quietly.
Sophomore Sabrina Jones scored on a header in the 75th minute to make it 2-1 and excite the Kickapoo fan section.
“We kept talking about it on the sidelines: If we could just find one goal, we’d really make the last 10 minutes interesting,” Hodge said. “If we just could’ve scored that goal a bit earlier.”’
With the win, Lee’s Summit West (18-4 overall, ranked No. 9 in Class 4) advances to its fourth straight final four. Kickapoo was seeking its first final four trip since 2002.
“(Lee’s Summit West) has been in this moment before,” Hodge said. “A lot of our players haven’t been in this moment before. To compete and keep it 2-1, I’m proud of our kids’ effort.”
The Titans controlled much of Saturday’s contest, keeping possession and firing shots and crosses at the Kickapoo net.
Kickapoo, thanks to some diving saves from Young, managed to keep it scoreless by halftime.
Lee’s Summit West finally broke through early in the second half with goals from Joey Fosnow (44’) and Greycen Erisman (48’).
Fosnow got the header on a corner kick. Erisman was credited for the second goal, which also came on a corner kick.
“Our last two games, we scored on restarts and set pieces and things like that. Today, Lee’s Summit West scores off them. They’re such big moments in games like this,” Hodge said.
Things were looking bleak for Kickapoo when the Titans drew a penalty kick in the 54th minute.
Young came up with the biggest play yet for Kickapoo, getting the save to keep the deficit at 2-0.
“It was her hips,” Young said of how she made the save. “The way (a player) will face up their hips is typically the way they go. But it’s really just luck. You do what you can and if you don’t get it, nobody bats an eye because they’re so difficult to stop.”
Hodge praised his veteran goalkeeper, who as a freshman had multiple saves in a PK shootout that helped Kickapoo win a district championship.
“I don’t have the words to say what Chloe meant to us in this game,” Hodge said. “To save a PK in that moment in this game and really keep us in the game, words can’t describe what that meant.”
The save re-energized Kickapoo over the next 20 minutes. Jones got the header on a lob from senior Maddy Wanner in the final minutes.
Kickapoo finishes 21-4 overall, its best record since 2016.
Despite an inexperienced roster and only four seniors, the Lady Chiefs tallied 115 goals while only allowing 12. Kickapoo also recorded 17 shutouts.
“(Our team) had a lot to prove this season and they accomplished that,” Hodge said.
