Bulletin E-Edition:
Seniors cap historic run for Bend girls soccer
The Lava Bears’ senior class dominated the competition with three state championships
By Beau Eastes / The Bulletin
Published: November 23. 2009 4:00AM PST| order photo
Bend High’s Kelsey Corney is fouled by Sherwood’s Teegan Koster in the Class 5A girls soccer state championship match at Liberty High School in Hillsboro on Saturday. After finishing overtime in a scoreless tie, Bend won the title in a penalty-kick shootout.
John Klicker / For The Bulletin
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Bend High senior forward Kelsey Corney ended an era on Saturday.
When Corney connected for a goal in an penalty-kick shootout against Sherwood in the Class 5A state girls soccer championship match, she not only closed the door on the Bowmen, but also officially concluded an astonishing four-year run for her and 12 other Lava Bear seniors.
The numbers are staggering. Three state titles. Four Intermountain Conference championships. Four state finals appearances. A 63-3-5 overall record. A 15-1 mark in the postseason.
“These girls are unbelievable,” said Bend High coach Bob Welch after the Lava Bears defeated Sherwood on penalty kicks for their second consecutive state championship. “They showed a lot of maturity.”
As they should. Ten of Bend’s starters on Saturday were seniors. Six of them have started since their sophomore seasons. Midfielder Mackenzie Ring and goalkeeper Emily Miller have been starters for the Lava Bears since they were freshmen.
While Ring and Miller have often been the go-to players for Bend over the last four years — Ring was the 2008 5A player of the year and Miller was an all-state first-team selection a year ago — the beauty of the Class of 2010 has been its strength as a unit.
In the 2006 state championship match, Miller performed like a seasoned veteran as a freshman, stopping two penalty kicks to help the Lava Bears defeat Crescent Valley for the school’s first girls soccer state title. A year ago in the title match against Mountain View, Cori Ervin, then a junior, scored off a free kick in overtime to give Bend its second state championship. And on Saturday, seniors Jordann Whitehurst, Ericka Whitehurst and Sara Gravelle all made penalty kick shots before Corney’s game-winner. Additionally, senior defender Amelia Salazar was named the Lava Bears’ player of the game by the Oregon School Activities Association.
“When we’re all done people aren’t going to remember who scored what,” Ervin said last week. “What they’ll remember is what we did as a team.”
Cougs face tough test
With Friday night’s 39-14 home victory over Madison, Mountain View earned a date with a dominant force in Class 5A football, the West Albany Bulldogs.
West Albany, the two-time defending 5A state champion, is 10-1 this season, which includes a victory over top-ranked Hillsboro and last week’s 75-0 blowout of Ashland in the second round of the state playoffs. The Bulldogs, who will host Mountain View on Friday in a 5A state quarterfinal matchup, have gone 50-2 over the last four seasons and have not lost a home game since 2005.
The Cougars have had a pretty good run in recent years, as well, having advanced to the state quarterfinal round each of the last four years. Mountain View, the Intermountain Conference’s only school still playing in the football playoffs, is 9-1 this season.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Albany’s Memorial Stadium.
Beau Eastes can be reached at 541-383-0305 or at beastes@bendbulletin.com.
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