Coming off a first-round bye, two-seeded Howard rolled through its first playoff win, handing sixth-seeded Blake a 23-0 defeat Saturday in the 4A/3A North section I semifinal.
"I think this week has been really good," said Lions senior midfielder Katie Schluederberg after the game. "We've had five practices to prepare and we haven't had that luck all season. We got to focus on things this game that we probably wouldn't have been able to in a tougher game. We got all the girls to touch the ball and got a lot of girls on the board for the first time, so it was nice to run through our plays, work on motion."
Howard won all but two draw controls in the outing, as junior Emileigh Scott collected the majority, finishing with 10 draw control wins in the game. She will be a huge factor for the Lions as their playoff push continues.
Howard maintained possession for 99 percent of the game, cruising out to a 19-0 halftime cushion in the process. The Bengals crossed the restraining line only once in the first half and totaled no shots on goal in the first 25 minutes.
It gave the Lions a great opportunity to play a lot of their younger players, as they called up six players from junior varsity, including freshman goalie Skylar Wishner who stepped in the second half for starter Sam Sagi. Wishner faced one shot on a free position and tallied the save.
Howard ate most of the clock in the second half, while adding a few more goals from Sagi, Naomi Smith, Ali Blair and Allison Quinn to solidify the 23-0 score.
Blake managed three shots on net, which all came in the final seven minutes of action.
Senior Kendall Wells led the Lions with four goals and two assists, while Schluederberg (three goals, one assist), Jenny Kinsey (three goals, three assists) and Ella Orzechowski (one goal, three assists) followed offensively.
"Coming off this win we can't come in flat-footed on Monday," Schluederberg said. "We just have to rally together as a team and come out with the same intensity that we've had all season, just work on the fundamentals and come out really strong."
The win sets up a matchup with fourth-seeded Westminster, who also seemingly cruised through its sectional semifinal win, defeating top-seeded Sherwood, 17-5.
"We've gone through a lot of stuff and we'll probably try to do a walk through before Westminster and hope for the best," said Howard coach Diana Carey. "If they want to move forward they are going to have to focus. It's up to them and this is a time where they have to step up. They have to come into this mentally prepared. We've talked about just that, making sure that you are mentally prepared for every single game and take every game one step at a time. There are no guarantees. Westminster will be a very good team and we'll have to bring our A-game, so we're hoping we're going to be able to do that."
After winning their region last year and getting all the way to the state semifinal game, the Lions are even more determined this season – touting eight seniors on their roster – to surpass last year and get to that coveted state title game, which would mark the first state championship appearance in program history.
"We want it so bad and we've had the same goal all season – to get to states. It's our last shot as seniors and I think this is a really special team. It takes a special team to win states and I really believe we can do it," Schluederberg added. "I think that we have a chemistry that we didn't have last year. Our seniors are all best friends on and off the field, so that really has a big role on the field. We're just a special team and I hope we can take it all the way."
Howard 23, Blake 0 (Saturday, May 14) (4A/3A North section I)
Goals: Ho – Wells 4, Schluederberg 3, Kinsey 3, Keller 2, Vetter 2, Martin 2, Orzechowski 1, G. Regal 1, Sam Sagi 1, Blair 1, Quinn 1, Smith 1, S. Regal 1.
Assists: Ho – Kinsey 3, Orzechowski 3, Wells 2, Tsao 2, Vetter 1, Martin 1, Schluederberg 1, Land 1, Blair 1.
Saves: Ho – Wishner 1; B – Lamb 4.
Halftime: 19-0 Howard.