After surviving an initial push early on in the game, King’s Way had its way with Elma as they Knights defeated the Eagles, 5-1, in a District IV Class 1A girls soccer semifinal Nov. 2 at Rottle Field.

The Eagles earned a shot at state later in the week with a win over Tenino.

On Nov. 2, Elma did not score until late in the second half but showed promise in their offensive attack and got several scoring opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the match.

However, the early offense only yielded one shot on goal and the ball stayed in Elma’s half of the field more often as the match continued.

Elma head coach Scott Rockey said the Knights kicked into high gear after but was encouraged by trailing only 1-0 at the half.

“We were passing and moving, but King’s Way seemed to speed up in the second part of the first half,” he said. “They were getting to balls faster than we were able to get possession but it was a great game for us. We were really solid.”

The Knights broke through with a goal in the 22nd minute when a shot from Elise Schey got under the cross bar and beyond the outstretched finger tips of Holli Ray.

Rockey urged his team to be more aggressive and wanted to see his forwards press the attack to get the ball into scoring areas like they did early on in the match.

The Knights, however, began to pull away after the halftime break.

King’s Way got the second goal of the contest when Kate Roseburrough in the 49th minute to put the Knights up, 2-0.

Elma later found itself down 3-0 as stoppage time drew nearer but the Eagles finally got on the scoreboard when Brooke Sutherby’s high-arching shot went over the keeper’s head while she was charging out of the goal in the 73rd minute.

The Knights added another goal a minute later and converted on a penalty kick in stoppage time to come away with the 5-1 win but Rockey liked the fight his team showed.

The shot total told the story in the match with Knights getting nine shots on goal and Elma only coming away with three. But Rockey still saw some bright spots. He highlighted Sutherby, Molly Johnston, Kassedy Olson and Jayla Mason for their solid performances.

Rockey said he still believes in his team.

“We’re still a good solid team, it’s just that we came up against a really fast team and we couldn’t get the ball away from them fast enough,” he said. “The girls are a good bunch and they held together.”