Mead Booters Give Kamiakin Klaustrophobia
GSL soccer
Kamiakin soccer coach Fred Klauss thought his Braves matched up well with Mead.
Guess he didn’t know about J.J. Klaus.
Klaus, a speedy junior, outran the Braves on two of his three goals to lead the Panthers to a 5-0 victory at soggy Mead High School in the opening round of the State AAA soccer playoffs Saturday afternoon.
“We knew we were faster than them,” Klaus, the player, said. “I knew we’d get up early because everyone was ready but I didn’t think we’d get three goals in the first 10 minutes.”
Klauss, the coach, said, “They’re well coached and we knew they would come out hard, but we thought we matched up well. We just had a defensive breakdown. We didn’t match up with them real well in the back, and they were able to take advantage and seemingly score at will.”
Pasco topped Gonzaga Prep 1-0 in Kennewick in another first-round game. The Bulldogs (15-1-1) play at Mead (15-1) next Saturday at 1 p.m.
Mead shocked Kamiakin (14-6-1) with a goal in the third minute. Dustin Lungo took a shot from just outside the box and Nick Hebb redirected it past Braves keeper Mark Francis for his third goal of the season.
“The thing we wanted to do was establish tempo early in the game to see if they were affected by the bus trip and getting up early,” Mead coach Dick Cullen said. “We came out with high pressure. It was a matter of us trying to ram it down their throat and them being back on their heels.”
Just 5 minutes after the first goal, Ben Baxter dropped a pass to Klaus, who put a shot just inside the near post for a 2-0 lead. Three minutes later, Ben Brodsky made it 3-0 with a penalty kick that was his 11th goal.
“I think we were mentally prepared to play,” Klaus said. “I think everyone was tired of the three-year thing, losing (early in the playoffs) every year. Playing as a team is the No. 1 thing. Everyone is clicking.”
Midway through the first half, Mead keeper Rich Cullen, after one of his rare touches, rocketed a long kick down the field. Klaus outran everyone to the ball and then sent a left-footed shot from 18 yards out past Francis.
That worked so well, Klaus capped the scoring about 5 minutes into the second half on a similar play after a pass from Brodsky. That gave Klaus 12 goals this season.
“Our defense starts our offense,” Klaus said after the Panthers’ eighth shutout. “Our defense has stepped it up. It makes it a lot easier.”
Gonzaga Prep (14-5) was done in by a pair of freshman. Nick Azure scored off a tip pass from David Hileman in the 32nd minute for the only goal. The duo had just entered the game.
The Bullpups, second in state last year and third the year before, struggled through the first half before taking command. They finished with 13 shots, nine in the second half, but couldn’t get a shot past Pasco’s Zyle Zierck.
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