Lee's Summit North girls soccer advances

The Lee's Summit North girls soccer team advanced to the Class 3 state quarterfinals with an impressive and dominating 5-0 win over Sedalia Smith-Cotton at Excelsior Springs High School Tuesday night.

The only thing that seemed to be able to slow down the Broncos on this night was the a bus breakdown and the weather.

The Smith-Cotton bus broke down on the way to the game, delaying the start more than an hour, and then 3 minutes into the first half there was a lightning delay.

But when the two teams were on the field, it was all Broncos.

McKenzie Kellogg and Allie Stephenson both netted first half goals for a 2-0 halftime lead as the Broncos dictated the play and were constantly putting pressure on the Tigers.

And the lead was big after both teams had been sitting for so long waiting for the game to start. You just had a feeling those first 2 goals were huge and really set the tone for the Broncos.

Stephenson, Aspen Williamson and Casey Williamson all scored goals in the second half, as North had numerous corners throughout the game.

The win sets up a rubber match with Liberty Saturday, who defeated Truman 8-2.

This is setting up to be a fun game and at this point, I would think Liberty would have to have the edge. The Bronco defense will have their hands full with Shea Groom and Brooke Williams, not to mention Kaysie Clark back in the midfield.

Without Groom and Clark the Broncos beat the Blue Jays 2-0 a few weeks ago, but with them the Blue Jays defeated North 4-0 earlier in the season in a game that was just 1-0 at the half.

I think this game will rest on the shoulders of the Bronco defense. Like I said, they'll have their hands full trying to slow down all the Blue Jays' scoring options.

Make sure to check Friday's Journal for a preview of Saturday's game.