A late goal by King’s Way Christian High School denied the La Center Wildcats full points in the hard-fought 2-2 draw on Monday, March 30.
The strong performance for the La Center boys soccer team ended in frustration after a final minute of stoppage time goal by the King’s Way Knights matched the score at 2-a-piece. La Center built an early advantage and controlled much of the match, but couldn’t hold off the late push by the Knights, highlighting an area head coach Kyler Burris says his team is still learning to manage.
“Taking a point from today is not what we’re looking for,” Burris said. “I’m setting the bar a little bit higher for ourselves this year.”
After jumping out to a 2-0 lead thanks to sophomore forward Ian Johnson, the Wildcats maintained control for an hour, but struggled to find the finishing touch that could have kept the match out of reach.
“That’s 60 minutes of being up 2-0,” Burris said. “How do you find that third? How do you balance keeping it in front of us? It’s a tough one.”
Despite conceding late, Burris praised his team’s effort throughout the pitch battle.
“I thought the boys fought hard,” he said. “We had some good moments and scored some good goals.”
The result reflects a season of growth for La Center, which has already matched up more competitively against teams it previously struggled against. The Wildcats have been steadily climbing in the standings under Burris, with this year making a huge leap to be a top-four team in a league where ties will count high, while a loss could knock you down a couple of spots. So far, the Cats have tied Seton Catholic and now the King’s Way Knights.
“We’ve drawn with some teams we haven’t before, and this is a good group of guys I’ve coached,” Burris said.
With a core group of experienced seniors leading the way, Burris said this season is about taking the next step as a program.
“I have a bigger group of seniors that I’ve coached the last few years now, and you know, being able to watch those guys grow and develop, really kind of go into that program development we’ve had over the last few years has been big time,” Burris said. “And I think that this year is really a test to show how do we hit that next level and continue to win games. You know, be on the top of the table.”
Senior goalkeeper Dakota Dickerson, who is actually in their first year of playing soccer, has been a stellar piece to the puzzle for La Center’s success.
“He stepped in, and he stepped in big,” Burris said of Dickerson. “A couple of great saves today. He is willing to come out, not scared of anything, always up for a new challenge. And he’s been a great guy on the team, really positive and he just wants to compete.”
The Wildcats were next put to the test against Fort Vancouver High School on Friday, April 3, resulting in an X-X win/loss. After spring break, the Wildcats will next square off against Onalaska High School on the road at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15.
