Early in the second half of Tuesday’s district championship girls soccer match, after Union goalkeeper Mo Spieth made two quick saves, Camas striker Maddie Kemp raised her arms in frustration.
From the Papermaker bench came encouragement for Kemp to stay aggressive. The freshman did that, converting a pair of rebound goals to lift Camas to a 2-0 and the Class 4A District 4 title.
“It was a little rough in there, because there were so many defenders and sometimes I just feel so small,” Kemp said. “But with the girls around me to push me, after I’m frustrated I feel I need to keep pushing because I’m playing for them and my team.”
That team will now host a bi-district playoff match on Saturday afternoon against Inglemoor of Kenmore at Doc Harris Stadium. Kickoff will likely be 2 or 3 p.m.
Union, as the second seed from District 4, will play at Issaquah at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The bi-district winners advance to the 16-team state tournament.
Tuesday’s district title match was dominated from the start by the Papermakers. The Greater St. Helens League champions forced Spieth into two saves in the first two minutes, setting the tone on a crisp evening when the Titans’ goalkeeper finished with a dozen saves and made at least a half-dozen other plays that disrupted Camas attacks.
“She’s a great goalie. I’m glad I got a chance to play against her,” Camas senior midfielder Rylee MacDonald said. “Our teammates kept telling us to shoot. That’s the only way were going to win. Playing against a great team and being able to win was just remarkable.”
The breakthrough came 12 minutes after halftime because Kemp stuck with the play. Spieth punched away an effort from the left wing, but the ball floated Kemp’s direction and she headed it into the goal.
“I went up and was hoping I could get something on it,” Kemp said. “I gave it all I got to put my head on it. I saw it go over her and (thought): ‘It’s going in. Thank goodness.'”
Camas could breathe a lot easier five minutes later when Kemp banged home another rebound opportunity, this one from a MacDonald shot that was set up by an Alyssa Tomasini pass.
“The ball was coming in fast and I just tried to put my leg out there,” Kemp said. “I got something on it and it happened to go straight back in.”
Camas coach Roland Minder was happy his freshman striker stuck with it.
“She played an incredible game today,” Minder said. “We challenged her, because (Monday) against Mountain View (she struggled). She really stepped it up.”
A year ago the Papermakers won the league title, but two district playoff losses — the second one to Union — ended their 2014 season. The effort from Camas on Tuesday, when the Papermakers dominated possession against a Union team playing for the fifth time in seven days, made certain their wouldn’t be a repeat.
“They are aggressive, so we had to be even more aggressive getting those (50-50) balls,” MacDonald said. “We had to be the first ones there, and working as a team was the only way we were going to get that done.”
