Class 3A: Kennedy in class of its own

LAKEWOOD — At 4 feet 11, Kennedy junior forward Vicky Rodriguez can get lost in a crowd. However, the Lancers' key offensive performer always seems to get noticed.

She's a small player with a big impact.

Rodriguez sparked her team out of a cold offensive spell, kick-starting Kennedy with a second-half goal to send it head and shoulders above Bellingham 4-0 in last night's Class 3A state-championship game at Harry Lang Stadium.

The Lancers (17-3-2) made Washington high-school soccer history, become the first team among Class 3A and 4A schools to capture five state girls soccer titles. Kennedy last won the crown in 1994 and, with this one, eclipsed the big-school record of four held jointly by Shorecrest, Bellarmine Prep and Lakeside.

Bellingham (19-2-1) had a 12-game winning streak snapped as Kennedy denied the Red Raiders their first title in the sport. Kennedy capped a dominant state-playoff run in which it outscored four opponents 16-2, including an 8-0 advantage in the Final Four.

"As a team, we peaked at the right time," said Kennedy Coach Doug Stamnes, who also led the Lancers' boys teams to championships in 1997 and 2000 to run his total to seven at the high-school level. "We played kick ball in the first half. We just were too pumped up. We just need to settle down and keep the ball on the ground."

Kennedy ended up outshooting Bellingham 18-4, but had nothing to show for it until Rodriguez cashed in during the 51st minute. That goal, on a short header into the right corner off a cross from the right from Maggie Shellenberger, started the landslide, and in less than two minutes the lead grew to 2-0.

"I'm glad that we picked it up," said Rodriguez, the team's speediest player with serious breakaway acceleration. "Once I scored the goal, things picked up. Once we score, it pumps us up."

Rodriguez finished with a goal and an assist.

The second tally came in the 53rd minute as Julie Martiniello volleyed a hard shot into the upper shelf on a short pass from Jasmine Wilson.

With the outcome already decided, Krystle Jalalian capped the Lancers' dominant state performance with goals in the 68th and 70th minutes. Martiniello finished with a goal and an assist.

"We have this thing where once we get a goal, we just know we can do it," Martiniello said. "This year, we just had a lot more heart."

The title erased the lingering thoughts of the Lancers' 2-1 shootout loss to Seattle Prep in the first round of last year's state tournament.

Kennedy outscored opponents 98-12 this season, allowing just one goal in its last three state contests.

Skyline 2, Hanford 1 (3rd-4th places) — With hearts heavy after their championship dreams were dashed in the semifinals Friday, Babes Kinneman and the Spartans (15-4-4) bounced back light on their feet to finish third.

Kinneman, a senior forward headed to University of Nevada, rocketed in the winning goal in the 77th minute — three minutes before the end of regulation time — as Skyline rallied from a 1-0 deficit against Hanford (19-4-0).

Kinneman, who also had an assist, finished the season with 15 goals as the Spartans earned the six-year-old school's best state finish, bettering their fourth-place effort in 2000.

Freshman sweeper Allie Schmahl provided the assist on the winning goal with a pass from the left wing, and Kinneman's long shot froze the Hanford defense.

Senior Kari Pierce, Hanford's all-time leading goal scorer, put the Falcons ahead 1-0 in the 28th minute on a precision long pass from Sylvia Rangel. Pierce, who had 105 goals for her three-year high-school career, glanced a short on-the-fly shot off Skyline goalkeeper Nicole Romano and into the right corner of the net.

Liz MacCool, a junior midfielder, tallied the 1-1 equalizer for Skyline after Kinneman skipped an assist to her in the 46th minute.