HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER PLAYOFFS : West, Kennedy Eliminate Locke, 2-1

Keith West of Kennedy High was prepared to blame his mother Tuesday if the Golden Cougars had been eliminated in the City Section soccer semifinals.

West injured an ankle in a sudden-death quarterfinal win Friday after his mother had talked him into playing the match instead of leaving early for a recruiting trip to Arizona State.

“Mom paid an extra $50 for me to leave Saturday and I got injured,” West said.

Luckily for mom--and Kennedy--West recovered quickly enough to score both goals in a 2-1 win over Locke that carried the Golden Cougars (14-2-1) to their first championship match since 1985. They will play Monroe at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Birmingham High.

West’s off-balance, left-footed shot with seven minutes left swung the match in Kennedy’s favor. Kennedy’s first shot on goal put the Golden Cougars ahead, 1-0. West rolled a shot past Gerardo Lombera from eight yards at the 11-minute mark of the first half.

Locke (15-3-0), the Southeastern Conference runner-up, tied the score on Jose Flores’ penalty kick with three minutes left in the half.

Defender Ruben Rios made two key saves for the Golden Cougars in the final 10 minutes.