Eighty minutes of well-done workmanship resulted in a 1-0 Thomas Jefferson whitewashing of Kentridge in a South Puget Sound League North girls soccer encounter at Federal Way Memorial Field on Saturday.
Youth-laden Jefferson improved its record to 3-4-1 while Kentridge fell to 4-3-1.
Raider head coach Jerrod Fleury was pleased with the effort and felt his squad had discovered the necessary ingredients to realize its full potential.
"We've been struggling for consistency," he explained. "The girls worked hard to put together a good 80 minutes. Our work rate had to be higher. We have talent, but the girls had to learn how hard to work to learn what level they can play at. Kentridge had the run of the play early. The midfielders adjusted and became more aggressive with more control. Our team found out today what happens with the higher work rate for the entire game."
Kentridge charged into action quickly, dominating the field position until midway through the first half. TJ goalkeeper Nicole Price earned four saves within the first 13 minutes of action, including a diving save with just more than 27 minutes remaining in the first half.
Jefferson gradually claimed more territorial rights and pushed the Chargers back for the majority of the first half's final 15 minutes. The missing link for the Raiders was finishing off the attacks with scoring shots as the half ended with a 0-0 deadlock.
Maintaining their momentum, the Raiders started strongly in the second half, pushing midfielders and defenders up to join the forwards.
In the game's 80th minute, Jefferson escaped damage when a Charger striker got loose on the right side while the TJ keeper was out of position. Hurriedly firing a shot, the attacker missed wide left.
In the 66th minute of play, the Jefferson persistence paid off with a close-in goal from Lauren Jerde.
“Lindsey Dahl threw the ball in and I flicked a header towards Lauren," recalled Chelsea Jensen.
With the header as a centering pass, Jerde bombed her kick past Kentridge keeper Krystal Daniels.
"I just saw the ball and quickly kicked it," said a beaming Jerde.
Surviving a final Charger flurry in the closing minutes of the game, the Resurgent Raiders held on defense to preserve the shut out victory.
"Our defense found out how fast their midfielders were and adjusted to hold them off," observed TJ keeper Price, who earned her first shut out as well as the team's first shutout. "We started talking more and were more aggressive with our marking."
