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Sarah Hirsch

The girls varsity soccer team defeated Washburn Rural in the state semifinals at the Hummer Sports Park in Topeka last night. The game started out defense-heavy, with Washburn only making a few shots on the goal. BVNW kept the ball on their offensive end, but no shots seemed to be hitting the net.

With 4:05 left in the first half, junior Cece Kizer, assisted by junior Lauren Reeder, scored the first goal of the game. BVNW now led 1-0.

“It boosted our confidence, definitely, because we were getting down, we had so many opportunities that we just weren’t finishing and we were just getting so frustrated at each other,” Kizer said. “Once we scored, I think we definitely were like ‘Okay, we got this now.'”

Kizer increased the lead with a penalty kick just two minutes later. BVNW continued leading at the end of the half 2-0.

With 34:51 left in the second half, senior Kara Priest scored, lengthening BVNW’s lead 3-0. This was to be the goal that solidified the team’s win.

“It’s probably the best defensive team we’ve ever had,” head coach Rick Pribyl said. “The three defenders that we have not only defend the attack…they know where each person is, they see the field so well. We’ve never had a team that plays like that.”

BVNW defeated Washburn Rural with a final score of 3-0. The team will play Maize today at 2 p.m. for the state title.

“I think that we’ll just go into the game tomorrow just like we did today,” Kizer said. “This is anybody’s game. Just because we were the number one seed doesn’t mean anything. Everyone wants it just as much.”