Scoring burst ends Kadets' 10-year quarterfinal drought

    Back-to-back quick goals by Jojo Cuchiaro and Kelly Browne were all of the cushion Air Academy needed to move on to the quarterfinals of the state 5A girls soccer playoffs for the first time in 10 years. The eighth-seeded Kadets beat No. 9 Fairview 3-1 Saturday at home.

    "I feel absolutely incredible," Kadets coach Nancy Sibley said. "These kids just worked their butts off tonight. They did everything they needed to do to win this game."

    Cuchiaro, a sophomore midfielder, scored first off an assist from junior Shelby Williamson 29:25 into the game. Cuchiaro hit a bouncer across the goalie box from the right side and caught Fairview's sophomore goalkeeper, Casey Thayer, out of position as the ball bounced into the left side of the net.

    "I always try to get to the far post low and hard and this one just ended up going on," Cuchiaro said.

    Browne, a midfielder, scored 2:04 later to make it 2-0. She won a scramble for a loose ball in front of the net and poked the ball under the hands of a sliding Thayer after it deflected off the ankle of a Fairview defender who had also fallen down.

    "I was already on the ground, so I just tried to do what I could to get a toe on it," Browne said. "I just barely got a toe on it. It was a trash goal."

    The Kadets (13-2-2) scored twice on their first two shots. Most of the first half was played in the Air Academy end of the field, but with the Kadets' defense shutting down passing lanes freshman goalkeeper Melinda Alvey was not seriously challenged.

    In the second half, the Kadets pushed the lead to 3-0 on a goal by junior forward Alex Moore. Fairview (13-4) scored in the 66th minute on a shot by senior Jenna Machado.

    "They're a great team, they showed up and they played and they outplayed us," Fairview coach Jeremy Pinard said. "It's tough to come back against a good team. They just dictated play in the first half."