No surprises as Ravens roll on

DRAPER — Great teams know how to deliver a knockout punch.

That is exactly what Waterford did to St. Joseph on Friday afternoon at Juan Diego with its 10-0 victory to advance to the finals of the 2A/1A soccer championship.

"We don't wait to get things started," said Ravens coach Tim Dolbin. "We like to get out there and extinguish any hopes they have."

It took only two minutes for Waterford to net its first score. Jackie Tillotson put home a nice shot from 15 yards following a pass across the middle from Cami Phillips. Five minutes later, all-state midfielder and forward Nicole Taylor broke through the back on a through-ball from Gina Soto. Taylor exhibited her skills with a nice finish under the keeper as she rushed out to defend the one-on-one.

"Nicole is one of the best players in the state. Period," said Dolbin.

Things continued the same way as the Ravens added goals in the 11th and 17th minutes, and amazingly scored two goals in the 20th minute. Phillips scored on a near-post finish cutting in from the left wing. Lanie Ward scored from about 10 yards on an assist from Soto, and Taylor and Soto scored 40 seconds apart to cap the first half scoring at 6-0.

The Jayhawks did not quit. They continued to fight and held the Ravens scoreless for the last 20 minutes of the first half by employing an offside-trap. The defense communicated well and caught Waterford nearly 10 times taking off too early.

"The first time we played them they really packed it in," said Taylor of the change in tactics. "To give them credit, they got us a bunch."

The Ravens came out strong to begin the second half. They netted three goals in the opening eight minutes. Madi Silva scored two as she received nice crosses from Elise Peterson from the right side that allowed Silva to punch it into an open net. Kimi Miyashima scored on a corner kick that was hit out to about the goal box and blown back into the net by the 15-20 mph wind, and the scoring was capped in the 61st minute on a nice shot from 18 yards by Kristina Karg.

Waterford has scored at least 10 goals in each of its playoff games and is the overwhelming favorite. How does the team find its motivation?

"We are all best friends that love soccer," said Taylor. "We want to win it for each other, have fun and improve every time out, not think about the competition."

Waterford faces Rowland Hall today at 5 p.m. at Juan Diego for the newest state title in the 1A/2A finals.

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E-mail: mblack@desnews.com