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St. Mary’s midfielder Lauren Kuklenski headed the ball over Kent Denver midfielder Heather Karpas on Thursday night in a Class 3A state soccer semifinal at Englewood High School. St. Mary’s won 1-0 on a header by Julia Saenz.
St. Mary’s finally gets ahead of Kent Denver
With late goal, Pirates avenge loss in 2007 state title game
ENGLEWOOD - It had been a long night, but Julia Saenz could see salvation soaring toward her.
Saenz and her St. Mary's soccer teammates were trying - and failing - to unseat Kent Denver, the state champion. Saenz had suffered, as top scorers often do, at the hands of aggressive defenders.
She had bruises on her back. She had revenge on her mind. And, finally, she had her chance.
With a little less than 5 minutes left in Thursday's Class 3A state semifinal clash, St. Mary's midfielder Becca Morales lofted a perfect left-footed crossing pass. Saenz faked to the right and then sprinted toward the center of the goal.
She looked up.
"The second I saw that ball, I told myself, ‘This has to be your chance,'" Saenz said.
On the sideline, St. Mary's coach Gregg Braha watched the ball fly toward his star. He smiled.
"Money," he said to himself. "This is money."
He was right. Saenz took a quick look at goalkeeper Hayley Kraus and could see an exposed right side of the goal.
So that's where she placed her header. The ball zipped to the back of the net, and St. Mary's was headed to its second straight final.
For Saenz and her teammates, this was a sweet victory. Kent Denver had eliminated the Pirates from two consecutive state playoffs. In last season's final, the Pirates watched as the Sun Devils danced on this same field as empresses of the state.
The Pirates shouldn't have needed late heroics. Kent Denver star Camille Solarte missed the game because of an injured knee, and St. Mary's outplayed its opponent from the start.
But the Pirates couldn't score.
For nearly 75 minutes, they found inventive ways to keep the ball out of the net.
Saenz is normally a greedy master at collecting goals. She has 26 this season but had struggled to find open spaces while facing rugged double- and triple-teaming in the playoffs.
In the first half, she tumbled to the fake grass when a defender smacked her in the back with a fist, leaving knuckle marks over her kidney.
"That put some fury in me," Saenz said after showing off her bruise. "I was not very happy."
She dominated the second half but couldn't quite deliver the game-winner. She was trying to shake her frustration when Morales broke down the left side.
Kent Denver is blessed with a tall, superb defender in Sidra Bonner. As Morales dribbled down the left side, she commanded herself to loft the ball high enough to clear Bonner and find Saenz.
"I know," Morales told herself, "Julia will be there."
Julia was there, and so was victory.
Columnist David Ramsey can be reached at 476-4895 or david.ramsey@gazette.com
