Kennedy’s season ends in 2-1 loss to Badgers | News, sports, jobs

Staff photo / Preston Byers Berkshire’s Emma Rucinski (left) and Warren JFK’s Jacqueline Morrison battle for the ball during the Eagles’ 2-1 regional semifinal loss in Brunswick on Tuesday.

BRUNSWICK – Trailing 1-0 at halftime against Burton Berkshire, Warren JFK girls soccer head coach Kayla Zoccole said she reminded her team, as she has done all season, that they don’t lose at home.

The coach told the truth; the Eagles won every game this season on the grass field behind their school.

But on Tuesday, Zoccole and her players stood on the lawn of Brunswick High School, about 75 miles west of the Kennedy campus.

“Home is what this team has become,” Zoccole said. “We said we are at home here and we are not going to lose no matter what.”

The message seemed to resonate as Eagles star Didi Ryan leveled the match early in the second half. However, Kennedy, announced as the away side for Tuesday’s play-off match, was unable to extend the season further, falling 2-1 to Berkshire after conceding a second goal with less than 15 minutes remaining in the semi-final of Division V, Region 17.

“(I’m) obviously disappointed in the outcome, but proud of these girls,” Zoccole said. “No matter what happened, every game we played all season, we played, and in my opinion we could have won. And I feel the same way about it tonight.”

The Eagles fell behind shortly before midway through the first half after Berkshire’s Marissa Karl managed to control the ball in a scrum near Kennedy’s goal and put it in the back of the net.

The Badgers carried the 1-0 lead into halftime, but only after JFK goalkeeper Riley Curd kept her team from falling several goals behind; Curd recorded three saves from close range in the final three minutes of the first half, including a penalty with less than 90 seconds remaining.

Berkshire coach Ian Patterson said his team was well aware of the talent of Ryan, the Eagles’ leading goal scorer, and specifically tried to silence her on Tuesday.

“The whole message, to be honest, was to keep her on her right foot,” Patterson said. “She’s still a good player on her right foot, but it seems like she’s not as comfortable on her right foot. So that’s what we tried to do.”

The Badgers’ plan worked for a while, but shortly after coming out of the break, Ryan ran onto the field with several defenders in tow, got the ball on her left foot and delivered a powerful shot into the right side of Berkshire’s net.

“We send two, three girls at her, and she still goes back to her left foot, and we knew she was trying to go there. So she is a phenomenal player,” said Patterson. “(…) It’s the whole game plan. And it seems like all we’re focusing on is her still finding a way to get back at it.

With 15 minutes to go, Ryan almost added to her seemingly ever-increasing goal tally when she made a similar run across the pitch and fired another hard, fast shot on target.

But the Badgers quickly turned defense into offense after the save.

Berkshire immediately countered Ryan’s point with a point of its own, which ended with Kelly McCandless putting her team back in the lead.

In the 14:29 after McCandless’ go-ahead, Kennedy failed to generate many chances to level the match and ultimately failed to respond before the final whistle.

The loss ends Kennedy’s season in the regional semifinals, just three days after capturing a district championship with a 4-3 win vs. Andrews Osborne Academy.

Zoccole said it was a challenge having only a few days, including Sunday, to prepare for the biggest game of the season.

Despite the difficulties and disappointment of Tuesday’s result, the Kennedy coach came away from the season-ending defeat with a sense of pride, a message she tried to convey to her dejected team.

“I tried to put into perspective how proud I am of them and how much we have accomplished,” Zoccole said. “There are a lot of things this year that this team didn’t accomplish, let alone get this far in the tournament. So even though we end up losing, I’m very proud of the journey.”

Zoccole, who became Kennedy’s coach in 2017, hopes the lessons, even hurtful ones like Tuesday’s loss, that this team learned will help future JFK rosters overcome similar obstacles.

“I think this game is going to be a big talking point for us, especially the rest of this bus ride and all of next season,” Zoccole said. “If you are down 2-1 in a match and you can win, you have to come back and win. There is no other option.”