Lee’s Summit West settles for a tie in Missouri Class 4 girls soccer consolation match
Kassidy Newsom and Lee’s Summit West suffered a double dose of disappointment Saturday. First, the Titans had to play a consolation match the morning after a hard-fought loss in the semifinals. And then that match ended in a tie.
But even after all that, after West saw its season end with a 2-2 tie against St. Joseph’s Academy in the Missouri Class 4 girls state soccer third-place match, Newsom found it hard to be too dejected.
“Honestly, it’s fun,” Newsom said. “We wanted to win it on our own, but to tie for third place is still an honor and we’re just happy we got to this point.”
LS West, 16-6-1, got there after a 2-1 loss to crosstown rival Lee’s Summit North in Friday’s semifinals. It was a tough loss, and LS West coach Shaun Owens was impressed with the way his team handled having to play so soon again on a warm and humid morning.
“I was hopeful our girls would come out and play today and they did,” Owens said. “We knocked the ball around well the first 20 minutes of the game and then we got tired, and when we get tired we play long.”
Newsom, a junior midfielder, accounted for both LS West goals, the first of which put the Titans up 1-0 in the 22nd minute. She got into the 18-yard box for a one-on-one opportunity and ricocheted in a shot off the left post.
But St. Joseph’s 18-4-2, needed only two minutes to get the first equalizer. A Titans foul gave the Angels a free kick inside the arc outside the box, and Ellen Donlin drilled it into the left corner of the net.
St. Joseph’s took advantage of West’s tiring legs and controlled play most of the second half, but Newsom came close on two counterattacks. In the 74th minute, she put the Titans up again on a header off a corner kick by Carsyn Overin.
But St. Joseph’s got another corner kick with less than a minute to play, and the Angels’ Mallory Stock banged it off the far post and into the net. There’s no overtime in state soccer consolation matches.
“That’s what we talked about at halftime: don’t give them corner kicks,” Owens said. “And ultimately that’s what did us in.”
Newsom and LS West found something else to ease their disappointment. Of the 11 Titans starters on the field, only three were seniors.
“Obviously, we’re going to miss some seniors, but next year we’ll be back, we’ll be strong and we’ll be ready to go,” Newsom said. “We’re all looking forward to next year.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2017 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Lee’s Summit West settles for a tie in Missouri Class 4 girls soccer consolation match."