Hanford, Kamiakin girls soccer in contention for title

Go ahead and watch the U.S. men’s national soccer team battle Costa Rica in an international friendly at 3:30 p.m. today (ESPN), a match that could decide the fate of U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

But the best match of the night might be a lot closer than you think.

When the Kamiakin Braves travel to Hanford to meet the Falcons for a 6 p.m. Mid-Columbia Conference girls soccer contest, you could be looking at the next MCC champion (or co-champion).

The teams are tied for second in the MCC standings and are playing extremely well. Hanford (9-3, 9-2 MCC) has won its last six games, including a 2-1 win over first-place Southridge 10 days ago that dealt the Suns (10-2, 10-1) their first league loss of the year.

Kamiakin (9-3, 9-2) has won seven of its last eight and has a better record on the road (5-0) than the Falcons do at home (4-2).

But as always, the records won’t decide this one. That will be left to the players on the field.

“When we played them last (a 4-0 Braves win at Lampson Stadium on Sept. 19), they were missing some people, so that score doesn’t really reflect what happened,” Kamiakin coach Chris Erikson said. “They’re doing awesome. This will be a tough match for us.”

It won’t be the only tough match left for the Braves, who will travel to face Southridge, with whom they shared the 2014 MCC title, next Tuesday. They also face Kennewick and Walla Walla — two teams with a combined record of 4-17 — at home.

Kamiakin is led by seniors Heather Donais, Rachel Ensign and Parker Lee, who have imparted their wisdom to a young lineup.

“We have such a small senior class, I wondered how the leadership would be,” Erikson said. “But I see Rachel playing in back with (freshman) Rylie Clark like they’re old buddies, and Heather is playing up top with a young freshman (Maddie Morgan).”

Donais also has been carefully guiding another freshman, her sister and fellow forward Britney Donais.

“I mentioned (to Heather) that she really needs to talk her up and give her encouragement, because she can really help us,” Erikson said. “She said, ‘OK, I will.’ ”

Hanford, which will be looking for its first league title since 2010, has gotten some inspired play from juniors Taylor Matheny and Sadie Newsome as well as some top-notch work in goal by Kelsee Winston.

“She’s the one who has kept us in big games,” said Falcons coach — and Kelsee’s older sister — Kaylie Winston, who was a star midfielder for Pasco before leading Walla Walla Community College to a pair of NWAACC women’s soccer championships in 2010-11.

Kaylie played under Justin Carey at Pasco and Chad Bodnar at Walla Walla, coaches who gave her the tools she needed to be successful in the world of soccer, both on the field and off it.

“I’ve kind of taken a little from every coach I’ve ever played for,” she said. Among the things she’s learned are “always go out and work hard, play with the team and be relentless. If you work hard, things will go your way.”

This story was originally published October 12, 2015 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Hanford, Kamiakin girls soccer in contention for title."