ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (14-2-1) defeated the King's Knights 1-0 Tuesday in the first round of the 1A State Girls Soccer tournament, the first state playoff win in Head Coach Jens Jensen's tenure. 

"This is our third time getting into state, and each time in the first round we got blown out," he said. "This year the whole goal was to get us a game that we could win, and I didn't know when I watched (King's) on film. Their goalkeeper is spectacular, and so I didn't know how it was going to shake out. But Maggie (Frank) comes up with an absolute wonder strike on a free kick to win us the game. It's awesome, this is a huge, huge deal for us." 

It was a battle throughout the first half; as the rainfall picked up, maintaining possession became more challenging. Royal came within range of scoring on a few occasions with corner kicks but were unable to finish and the game remained scoreless at halftime. Coming out of the break, RHS went to work pushing the attack as they began to gain momentum against King's.  

Within the first 10 minutes, Maggie Frank was set up for a free kick to take a shot on goal. Once she lined it up, she took her shot and drilled it, putting her team up 1-0 early in the second half. From there, Royal continued to control possession with King's getting a few chances throughout the half, but time ultimately ran out and the RHS Knights began to celebrate.  

Frank broke down her shot, which a lot of it came from their preparation leading up to the game, she said. 

"I know she's a really good goalie, and she's going to be tough," Frank said. "We were watching film, and I knew she was going to be lining up more (toward) far posts because that's what goalies do if they're smart enough. They'll put their wall on the near post, and they'll line up more far posts. But it was far enough from the goal that I knew I could put it over the wall if I tried, and she wasn't in position to block that. And I was like, 'Okay, I got to go near post.' And it just worked out and lined up perfectly." 

Be tough 

If you're in attendance of a Royal soccer game, you have probably heard Jensen preaching to his players to be brave and tough when on the pitch. In the last few games alone, the Knights' toughness has been tested. From Saturday's game against Cashmere to Tuesday night against King's, the pitch saw several players engage in physical games. Players were hitting the turf, getting bloody noses, having the wind knocked out of them and Knights forward Lauren Wardenaar received a broken nose on Saturday and returned to action by Tuesday.  

Without a doubt the Knights proved their toughness, Jensen said.  

"Her nose is broken; she has not yet seen a doctor. The ER said we can't do anything. You need to see an ear, nose, and throat guy," said the coach. "Somebody had a mask, and she puts it on and is like, 'I'm fine.' Okay, I guess you're fine, but don't head the ball. She comes out after what happened to her – to come out and battle, and she's not afraid of 50-50s. And the defense - people were playing tough today."  

For Wardenaar, it's been a few days between the district championship game and their state game against King's. Though she did not start the game Tuesday, she was at the ready to be subbed in at any time, she said. Her motivations to play were simple. 

"I just love to play, and I just didn't think a broken nose could stop me," she said. 

Her teammates also felt the impact of Wardenaar's injury, Frank said.  

"It was definitely hard, (Lauren) is a big part of our team, and losing her was hard, but it also very motivating. Just knowing a team tried to come here and be more aggressive than us and try to bully us off our own field, and we just let them do it until the second half when we finally got our heads in the game. This game we knew we had to come out strong, and it definitely motivated us for sure." 

State dreams 

Their first state win alone had historical implications, however; there's still much more to play for as the Knights advance to round of eight. They'll face the winner of Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) and Cascade (Leavenworth). Date and time will be announced after the result of that game is complete. 

As they look ahead, the Knights know the challenge only increases from here, Jensen said.  

"We're trying to chase a trophy," he said. "The next game is going to be a very difficult game for us. But this is why we play. You never know. In this game, the better team or the team that's favored in this game probably doesn't win more than any other sport. We're going to do everything we can and if we have to defend for our lives and somehow try to survive, that's what we'll do. It's awesome to have the opportunity to make it to the round of eight. For us, it's a big move." 

BOX SCORE: 

KNGS: 0-0: 0 

ROYL: 0-1: 1

    The Knights' Justine Fitzhugh (4) battles with a King's player for possession of the ball.
  

    Maggie Frank (14) and the Knights break into celebration after she scored off a free kick on Tuesday.
  

    Lauren Wardenaar (24) breaks into open field to set up a shot on goal for the Royal Knights on Tuesday.
  

    South Central Athletic Conference Player of the Year Halie Christensen (21) makes a call out to her teammates during the Royal Knights state opener against King's.
  

    The Royal Knights' Aurora Santillan (22) takes a shot on goal with King's defenders closing in.