Southridge girls soccer advances in state tournament

When the Mid-Columbia Conference all-league girls soccer teams were released last week, Southridge junior Haley Thomas was named the MCC co-MVP along with Kamiakin’s Rachel Ensign.

Auburn-Riverside found out why during the Suns’ 2-1 win in a first-round Class 3A state matchup Tuesday at Southridge High School.

Thomas served up an assist on Kayleen Sambrano’s game-tying goal in the 48th minute and scored the go-ahead goal in the 61st after making a steal in Auburn-Riverside’s defensive third.

“I definitely think we have the mentality to not give up. We’ve been behind in multiple games, and somehow we find a way to come together at the end and just somehow pull out a win,” Thomas said.

Thomas started the game as a central defender, but when the Suns went into halftime trailing 1-0, Southridge coach Greg Sambrano knew a change was in order. And Thomas, a three-year starter, would have no problem accepting the challenge of moving to midfield to spark the offense.

“My mindset totally has to change. I have to bring the ball down, settle, find feet (and) score,” Thomas said.

Coach Sambrano said adding her to the mix creates more scoring opportunities.

“She’s an aggressive kid and has an attacking mentality. She wins balls and has a great shot. When teams come out to stop her, she can move the ball in to the forwards,” coach Sambrano said. “I don’t think we would have won if we didn’t change things at halftime. You can make whatever excuse you want to make. We just needed to play better.

“When we put Kelly Brown up front (at forward) and moved Haley to midfield, immediately things started happening. It was a good change for us.”

In the first half, Southridge managed six shots and allowed just two to Auburn-Riverside, one of them a well-placed free kick by McKenna Boulet that Thomas nearly headed away but found the net anyway. In the second half, the Suns put a barrage of 20 shots on goal. Overall, Southridge outshot the Ravens 26-2, holding A-R without a shot over the final 47 minutes.

Thomas centered a pass from the right wing in the 44th minute right in front of the net but couldn’t connect with a striker. Her next opportunity, a 30-yard free kick from 30 yards away in the 48th minute, found its mark. Kayleen Sambrano made a run from the left wing and met Thomas’ pass in front of the net, heading it inside the near post to tie the score at 1.

“We take free kicks all the time in practice. This one had perfect placement,” Sambrano said. “Every kick is different. I just got to the right spot and got my head on it.”

Southridge needed another score, and after a barrage of shots in the 61st minute, Thomas stole the ball and found some space from about 35 yards out.

“I saw the goalkeeper cheating toward her left side — my right — and I knew I was going left,” Thomas said. “(When I hit) that one, I was pretty sure. I saw it perfectly. I knew it. It was definitely redemption.”

But that redemption will only go so far if the Suns don’t beat their next opponent, Holy Names Academy, which topped Kamiakin 4-0 on Saturday in another Class 3A first-round match at Lampson Stadium. The winner of that matchup will head to the state semifinals, otherwise known as the Final Four. Southridge reached the championship game last season, losing 2-1 to Edmonds-Woodway.

“We’ve got to do a better job finishing, because if we make one mistake, then they’re back in at and all the momentum changes,” coach Sambrano said. “We’re going to have to play much better Saturday. We’re going to play one of the best teams in the state. We can’t play the way we did in the first half and expect to win. We need 80 minutes of our best soccer.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 8:39 PM with the headline "Southridge girls soccer advances in state tournament."