Wildkats, Berries on collision course in sectional

By PEDRO VELAZCO
Tribune sportswriter

October 11, 2007 11:12 pm

— Rematch.
Logansport beat Kokomo 5-3 last season in the championship of the Kokomo Girls Soccer Sectional, a loss that still stings for the Kats. Thursday, both Kokomo and Logan booked passage to Saturday’s final with lopsided victories in the semifinal round.
The Kokomo Sectional title game is at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Just in case the pain of last year’s loss was getting a little distant, Kokomo coach Myles Geary made sure his Kats remembered it Thursday after dispatching Manchester 6-0 in the opening semifinal.
“I think the girls are really excited,” Geary said of the championship rematch. “It’s such a great matchup, it always is, and I think the girls want to prove they’re for real and do deserve a rematch Saturday.”
The Berry-Kat matchup is always high-strung. Kokomo won 3-2 in the regular season on a goal in the final minute.
“We’re almost always even,” Geary said. “We’re always even each year, whether we win in the regular season or the other team wins in the sectional. It seems like we’re always going back and forth with each other. [The games] are always close and they’re always exciting.”
Logan beat Peru 5-0 in Thursday’s second semifinal.
The Kats (11-7) reached Saturday’s championship game by beating Manchester, and made it a little more work than it should have been. The Kats led just 1-0 at halftime on a goal by Casey Connor but Kokomo lacked energy and cohesion.
That changed in the second half as Kokomo roared to life. The Kats punched home three more goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half to ice the game.
“We had to turn it up,” Geary said. “We weren’t playing to our potential at all [in the first half]. We were almost waiting to see who was going to make the play, and who was going to take over the ball instead of being first to the ball. And in the second half, we did that right away — we just won all the 50-50 balls. I felt like somehow we gained twice the speed in the second half … and played a lot harder and faster than we did in the first half.”
Connor spotted the Kats the lead when she converted inside the box off a pass from Breanna Allen in the eighth minute. But Kokomo failed to impose its will on the game and let Manchester gain confidence and take shots on Kristen Clason’s net.
After halftime, Kokomo took over. Kokomo threatened less than two minutes after halftime with a shot by Rebekah Heilman. Her effort was saved, but it was an indication of what was to come.
Connor scored just four minutes after halftime with a clinical finish after a Heilman pass freed Connor in the heart of the defense. Jordan Parkhurst scored on a free kick from 30 yards out in the 49th minute. A minute later another Parkhurst free kick bounced in the box and Brittney Hildebrand pounced to head it home for a 4-0 advantage less than 10 minutes after halftime.
“I felt like we just gained total control after the half,” Geary said.
A Manchester own goal off a Parkhurst corner kick made it 5-0 and then Desiree Hicks finished the scoring off an assist from Kali Ackison for the final netter in the 67th minute.
“I thought we took control of the midfield the second half,” Geary said. “We denied [passes] — they were getting a lot of good long balls the first half and putting us back on our heels, so I thought we took control of the midfield. Rebekah Heilman played a really solid second half in center mid. [Connor], she was getting covered by three people and she was still getting some open looks. I thought all around we just played really strong.”
Geary also praised Parkhurst for her dangerous long-range shooting, and noted strong play from the Kat defenders.
Now, the Kats get another game against rival Logansport. It’s what they hoped for all week.
“It’s not just a regular game,” Geary said. “It always means something.”

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