Suns head back to state soccer playoffs

The Southridge girls soccer team already has won more titles this year than it ever has in one season.

The beauty of it all is the Suns still feel as though they have something to prove.

First came the Mid-Columbia Conference regular-season championship — without having to share it with anyone, mind you. Then came the Class 3A District 5 championship, a 3-2 win over Kamiakin on Saturday.

On Tuesday night, the Suns defeated Mt. Spokane 3-0 in the District 5/8 regional championship game at Southridge High School, a decisive win that left no question as to who was the better team.

“It was an exciting game. I think Mt. Spokane came out really strong in the first half, but we came out in the second half and played much better,” Southridge coach Greg Sambrano said. “We played with a little more composure in the second half, a little more confidence. We played with our heads up. We had people moving, which gave us more options, and we found some people in dangerous positions and got a few goals.”

The Suns (16-2) will host the No. 5 seed from District 3/4 — they won’t know who it is until Saturday — in the first round of state next Tuesday.

Syd Sanders scored two goals, and Kelly Brown added a sneaky 30-yard chip shot that found its way over the outstretched hands of Wildcats goalkeeper Megan Nilsson and just under the crossbar in the 60th minute.

Sanders’ first goal was a result of some pretty impressive teamwork by Southridge. Emily Dirham intercepted a pass at midfield and dribbled up the field, passing to Kayleen Sambrano on the right wing. Instead of firing a shot, Sambrano passed to the far post, where Sanders beat Nilsson for a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.

Sanders put the finishing touches on the win in the 66th minute, getting a pass from Kendall Pope in open space in front of the net and beating Nilsson again to make it 3-0.

“I give a lot of props to my teammates. They passed me the ball. I just looked up and saw the ball coming,” said Sanders, one of 14 juniors who comprised the core of last year’s Suns team that reached the 3A state title game.

One of those juniors, McKaley Goffard, suffered a knee injury over the summer and couldn’t play this season. But that has motivated the Suns even more. Losing last year’s regional title game to Mt. Spokane only stoked the fire.

“We wanted to get back what they took from us last year,” Brown said. “Our second half was really good. We pressed and put in a lot of effort, and it paid off.”

The Wildcats (11-5), who will host Kamiakin (14-5) on Saturday for the No. 2 berth to state, had a chance to tie things up at the end of the first half. Peyton Malone got an open look from the top of the 18-yard box, but her shot rang off the left post.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 9:48 PM with the headline "Suns head back to state soccer playoffs."