SUMNER - Plentiful preparation and a multitude of motivation left the Seattle Christian girls soccer team happily singing in the rain Friday at Sunset Chev Stadium.

Seattle Christian midfielder Jordan Comiskey lofted home the game’s only goal in the 24th minute to give the battling Warriors (17-3-1) a 1-0 win over King’s (19-3) and snare a return trip to the state 1A tournament final on Saturday (after press time) against Seattle Academy (21-1). This is a rematch of a November 5 game won by Seattle Academy, 2-1.

SCS captured the 2006 crown and finished third last season.

Sophomore Seattle Christian midfielder Jordan Comiskey, who was not a member of the previous playoff squads, softly lofted the ball into home for the game’s only goal in the 24th minute while the Warrior defense held the Knights off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

“I can’t really remember how the shot went in,” Comiskey, in her first year of prep soccer, exclaimed. “It’s so exciting.”

Terrika Weaver began the game winning sequence by breaking away and scooting speedily down the left sideline on a drive. Approaching the goal from the left side, Weaver sent the ball inside to set up two short-range shots. When the ball popped out in front, Comiskey floated a shot that barely dodged the oustretched hand of leaping goalkeeper Carolyn Dapper. The ball scraped the bottom of the crossbar and descended in.

Both teams fought on evenly in action that resembled trench warfare. SCS created powerfully, promising opportunities in the first half with speed and strength, but settled for the lone goal.

King’s had a trio of strong scoring chances in the opening 16 minutes of the second half without finding the back of the net.

It was the fortifications on defense that enabled the Warriors to outjoust the Knights. Early in the first half, King’s popped two consecutive shots on goal from point blank range only to watch Seattle Christian goal keeper Hannah Kane deny the score. In the 65th minute, Taylor Hauck intercepted a pass for the Knights and sailed in for a one-on-one confrontation with Kane. Kane smothered the attacker and the ball on the six-yard line to frustrate the Knights again.

“On their early tries, I got a hand on the first ball and got a leg on the second shot before falling on it,” describe Kane, who was outstanding in her 11th shutout of the season. “Against the breakaway, she took one touch too many and I was able to read her move.”

Often overshadowed, the SCS defenders proved their worth over the long haul, winning muddles in the middle and kicking away possible shots or cross passes.

“We had a lot of motivation,” stated Warrior defender Amanda Zebarth. “We had to make sure that they didn’t score from the outside.”

To this end, Seattle Christian had specific strategies signified. Madison Hibbard shadowed King’s player Kendal Thoreson as Madeline Neilsen marked dangerous forward Hillary Zevenbergen in a well-prepared game plan.

Thrilled to avoid last season’s consolation match, Seattle Christian head coach Melissa Bennett described the preparations leading up to Friday.

“We needed to cut off the corners,” she said. “I knew that they had good attackers, so we marked their most dangerous players. It was scary the last 10 minutes, but we knew our roles and accomplished it. We were prepared well. That’s what we did out here.”

Bennett cited Allison Mitchell, Zebarth, Neilsen and Hibbard as keys to the outstanding defensive play.

“The defense, sweeper and all the others did a good job of covering. Mitchell cleans up everything in the back. She’s awesome. She did the job all game long.”