BLUE SPRINGS - Whether you call it "sudden death" or "sudden victory," there's no doubting one thing - it's very sudden.
The Helias Lady Crusaders' quest for a soccer state championship came to an abrupt end Friday afternoon, as Kearney claimed a 2-1 victory in a Class 2 semifinal at Blue Springs South High School.
Making the loss even tougher to stomach was the winning goal by Allie Hess, which came with just 33.9 seconds left in a sudden-death overtime period.
Helias coach Brad Dempsey, visibly distraught while addressing members of the media after the game, said the result was tough to handle.
"It's so hard as a coach to go in and explain to your team that we're not playing for the state championship," he said. "That was our goal. Let's be honest. That's what we wanted this year. But it didn't happen."
The game-winner came after a wild scramble in front of the Helias goal, starting with a save by the Lady Crusaders' keeper, followed by another shot that almost went in off a Helias defender.
The play started as a nice counter-attack by Kearney after taking possession near midfield.
"I saw one of their best players and one of our best defenders going toe-to-toe for the ball, she just kind of got around and slipped a pass and then their other best player put it home," Dempsey said. "The ball is bouncing around, our keeper is scrounging for it, we've got players scrounging for it, and they put it in."
That capped off an overtime period where Helias controlled the ball for long spells, but could never get off a shot. Kearney had the only three shots of the extra period, with Helias keeper Sydnee Kliethermes making a nice save with five minutes left and the Bulldogs knocking one off the post 2 1/2 minutes later.
"It could have happened for either team," Dempsey said. "They were knocking on the door there. They pinged one off the post. They wanted it, and we wanted it."
It didn't appear overtime would be necessary for much of the contest, as Kearney took a 1-0 lead and held it until late in the second half. But with 6:01 remaining in regulation, Tiffany Weaver took a pass from Becky Roberts and slotted it home to energize the Helias crowd.
"I really thought after we scored the goal we had a chance to grab one and we almost did," Dempsey said.
Kearney got its goal with 12:40 left in the first half. Kliethermes made a nice diving stop on a shot by Hess, but was unable to corral the rebound. Gloria Hanrahan swooped in to pick up the rebound and put it away.
During the first 30 minutes of the game, Kearney clearly had the better play.
"I think we controlled the second half, for the most part," Dempsey said. "The first 20 minutes of the game were very difficult for us, and I think we were a little timid. Halftime was a great break and the girls came back and responded."
Kearney ended up with a 13-6 edge in shots in the game.
"There were moments when we were at our best and moments where they were at their best, and they just made a great play at the end," Dempsey said. "Those girls on the field had nothing left. Everybody was struggling to get it done. I'm so proud of our team."
Overtimes haven't been kind to Helias athletic programs in state semifinals of late, as Dempsey was an assistant coach on the boys basketball team that lost in triple overtime to Republic in the Class 4 Final Four in March.
"It's definitely a heartbreaker," Dempsey said. "For me as a coach, this is the second time I've experienced this in six months. The girls went out and did what we asked them to do."
The Lady Crusaders (19-9-1) will now prepare for today's noon's third-place game against Rosati-Kain (14-14). Kearney (23-3-2) will take on Visitation Academy (20-3-2) at noon for the title.
"I think the thing our coaching staff will be most proud of that we'll take away from this game is that Kearney came out with a level of intensity, and we had to meet that, and then we had to come above it," Dempsey said. "For young athletes to do that, that takes character, that takes strength, that takes mental toughness, and we did that."