State soccer: Southridge advances to 3A final; Hanford falls in 4A semifinal

Syd Sanders scored the only goal of the game Friday, connecting from close in early in the first half as the Southridge Suns downed Bishop Blanchet 1-0 in a Class 3A state semifinal at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.

The Suns (20-2) advanced to the 3A title game for the third consecutive year and will play Bellevue, which knocked off unbeaten and defending champion Seattle Prep 1-0. Southridge and Bellevue will play for the 3A crown at 2 p.m.

Sanders’ goal came just inside the sixth minute, the result of a corner kick that Kendall Pope tracked down and fed to her for a close-range shot.

It proved to be the only goal the Suns would need against the Braves (12-7-3), especially with how they played defense.

Bishop Blanchet managed just a single shot, and it was off frame. By contrast, Southridge took seven shots, four on target.

CLASS 4A: Hanford (18-4) fell short of the state championship game with a 2-1 semifinal loss to West Valley (Yakima).

West Valley (19-2) opened the scoring in the 36th minute, and Hanford’s Jessica Maher tied it up in the 58th. But Kendra Hanses broke the tie 10 minutes later, and the Rams held on to advance to Saturday’s 4 p.m. title game against Camas.

Kelsee Winston stopped three shots for Hanford, which will face Skyline in the third/fourth-place game at noon Saturday at Sparks Stadium. Camas beat Skyline 1-0 in Friday’s earlier semifinal.

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 6:55 PM with the headline "State soccer: Southridge advances to 3A final; Hanford falls in 4A semifinal."