Jacket soccer secures massive win at MSM

Just what exactly is the biggest win in Kingfisher High School boys soccer history?

Though still in its infancy, that could possibly be up for debate.

What isn’t debatable was the enormity of last Friday’s 1-0 victory at Mount St. Mary.

“Yeah, it definitely was a big one,” coach Isaac Waltman said.

The victory pushed the Jackets to 3-2 in District 3A-2 games.

That was good enough for third place and while the Jackets won’t get to host a playoff game next week, the task ahead isn’t as daunting as it could have been.

KHS will play at Christian Heritage Academy next Monday night to open the playoffs.

Mount St. Mary, by way of the loss to the Jackets, has to visit defending state champ Crooked Oak, which is the 3A-1 champ this year.

“It’s just a better chance of postseason success,” Waltman said of avoiding the Ruf-Nex. “You just don’t want to match up with them in the first round.”

Zander Padilla did his part to help avoid that when he scored from just outside the box with five minutes left in the first half against the Rockets.

The score came on an assist from Rhett Schlegel.

It was the product of a selec- tive, yet effective, approach by the Jackets.

“We were very selective of taking scoring opportunities, but still managed to take 12 shots on goal,” Waltman said.

He noted the Jackets passed the ball “extremely well” and maintained a 58 percent possession advantage over MSM.

Diego Muñoz also did his part in goal as he denied all nine Rocket shots on goal.

Five of those came in the game’s final 10 minutes.

But, said Waltman, the difference in the game came from twins Aaron and Uriel Delatorre.

Traditionally, one plays back on defense and the other on offense.

“We made some adjustments to our formation and personnel before the start and let those two play in the midfield together,” Waltman said.

“They dominated on both sides of the ball.”

The Jackets wrapped up their regular season Monday with a 4-0 loss at Class 4A Weatherford. That gave them a 6-6 record going into the playoffs.

KHS hasn’t played CHA, but did scrimmage the squad in preseason.

“Even though it was a scrimmage and ‘doesn’t count,’ we ended up on top with a 1-0 score,” Waltman said. “Both teams are sure to have learned and developed over the course of the season, but that scrimmage gives us a little bit of leverage and confidence coming into Monday night’s game.”

Lady Jackets fall short in bid for playoffs

The Kingfisher girls soccer team came one win shy of reaching the Class 3A playoffs in 2023.

KHS wrapped up its season Monday with a 4-0 loss at Weatherford, a Class 4A team.

Its district mark ended at 3-4 as KHS finished fifth in 3A-2.

The district campaign ended last week with a 7-0 loss to Mount St. Mary.

However, it was the team’s first district game back on March 28 that proved most pivotal.

That was a 3-0 defeat to Cushing, the team that eventually took fourth - and the final playoff spot - in the district.

Despite falling short of the playoff goal, coach Aniessa Edsall was able to look deeper into the season.

“It’s so easy to look at the season as wins and losses, because that’s tangible,” Edsall said.

“I think our girls gained confidence in different areas of their games, as a whole and individually. Where they probably would have folded and crumbled in some situations before, they pressed on and fought.”

Injuries and other circumstances forced Edsall to put players in unfamiliar positions at times during the year.

“They got out of their comfort zones and played positions they hadn’t played before,” she said.

That’s just one thing Edsall feels could benefit KHS soccer in 2024 and beyond.

“I’m optimistic for what the future holds for this program,” she said. “While there is still room to grow, we’ve made some strides that will set us up for future success.”