Knights battle into district championships

ROYAL CITY — The second seeded Royal Knights (16-2-1) battled in a tight matchup against the third seeded Naches Valley Saturday afternoon in the district semifinals. Both teams put forward a strong effort, with the Knights securing a 1-0 victory. 

"We were all putting our heart out in this game and trying our best because we have a really good team this year," said Knights junior Sofia Villafana. "We were just giving it our all." 

The tone of the game was set from the very start as Royal and Naches Valley went back and forth on their attack. While the Knights controlled the ball for most of the first half, Naches Valley's defense kept things in check.

Knights senior Maggie Frank had two close shots on goal early in the first half, but both missed making it into the net. Soon after Naches Valley turned the tables and began putting pressure on Royal's goal but were held scoreless. 

"The first 30 minutes it was all us," said Knights Head Coach Jens Jensen. "We had lots of opportunities and you know how that goes where you're like, 'Oh man, are we going to miss our opportunity here?' and then the last 10 minutes we really had a hard time keeping possession."  

By halftime, the game sat 0-0. 

"The second half, they came out and it was a battle, but we were doing pretty good," said Jensen. "When we finally stopped clearing the ball with no purpose, started finding some feet and put a few things together in the second half, that's when the goal came."  

Royal came back from halftime with renewed energy and 13 minutes in Frank came close once again with another shot on goal. The Knights continued to build offensive momentum, which eventually culminated in Lizzie Jenks making a pass to junior Sophia Villafana, who scored at 25:25 in the second half. 

"I was in the middle of where the goal is; Lizzie passed through the ball, and I just tapped it trying to hit it," said Villafana. "There were defenders on me, but I still got to tap the ball in. I was just hoping that it went in and it did." 

This goal made an exponential shift for the momentum in favor of Royal as they held tight control of the ball from that moment forward. Naches had a few close moments later in the game, but the Knights held strong defensively to maintain their lead. 

With swift ball movement and smart plays on defense, the Knights claimed a 1-0 win to not only guarantee a spot in the state tournament but also host the District 5 championship game. 

"I'm glad that we finally found a finish, and we got it from Sophie, one of our forwards... she hasn't scored a ton of goals this year, but she works hard," said Jensen. "That's fun that she gets to be the hero." 

The buildup toward that goal was through the Knights' ability to make connections with one another on the field, said the coach. Royal used those connections to take pressure off the center-midfielders and get the ball to the outside.  

He said their pregame work was all about getting the team into the right mindset to go all in and put everything out on the field. That involved getting the Knights in a position where they were comfortable in not holding anything back, tactically recognizing when the opposition is bringing pressure to the midfield and finding those openings to the outside. 

"If we could get one or two good touches out of them, that could be the difference," said Jensen. 

This mindset culminated in highlights from freshman Marilyn Deras who drew fouls in key situations, senior Maggie Frank who was a key driver for the offense, junior goalkeeper Grace Soliz who had multiple smart stops on goal and junior Hali Christensen who played tough defense. He said the whole team played a role in getting the win. 

"Everybody put in a shift," said the coach. "There was definitely a time where everybody fell out, but they came back so that's great." 

Villafana said their communication both before and during the game was a highlight that contributed to their success Saturday. As the team prepares for the championship game, she is ready to see what the Knights can accomplish. 

"I'm feeling great," said Villafana. "Excited, super happy that we made it." 

One important lesson from Saturday's game was that the Knights will need to find the momentum sooner, said Jensen. 

"We just have to figure out how to do that more often and not get caught in a situation like we did where the play gets a little frantic and people get on their heels," said the coach. "Generally, we outshot them, had more corners than them." 

For the Knights, this is an exciting moment for everyone on the team, said Jensen. 

The coach said this has been a long time building for the Royal Knights girls soccer program as they have slowly achieved each milestone each season and are starting to chase trophies. If the Knights win against Cashmere, this could also set the team up to host the first round of the state tournament depending on overall rankings. 

"We set goals at the beginning of the season and this was our final goal was to make this district final," said Jensen. "We've matched all our goals and now we go and we play Cashmere. I'm excited to play them here and to have a chance." 

The Knights will host the district 5 championships against Cashmere Saturday at 5 p.m. 

BOX SCORE 

NCHS: 0-0: 0 

ROYL: 0-1: 1

    Maggie Frank, a senior from Royal, sends the ball flying toward Naches Valley's goal during Saturday's district semifinal.
  

    Royal sophomore Lizzie Jenks keeps her eye on the ball as it flies toward her and a Naches Valley player with Royal senior Maggie Frank keeping an eye on things in the background.
  

    Knights sophomore Aurora Santillan leaps in the air to snag possession of the ball Saturday afternoon.
  

    Hali Christensen, a junior from the Knights, moves the ball down the field against Naches Valley in the district semifinal.
  

    Royal junior Sophia Villafana rushes toward the ball in the center of the field Saturday against Naches Valley.