DES MOINES - Jamie Vogl spent the entire regular season on the junior varsity for the Kennedy girls soccer team, but she's been in the thick of things for the Cougars at the Class 3A state tournament in Des Moines.

On Thursday, she banged heads in a nasty collision with Bettendorf junior Ashton Glaus and needed seven stitches to close a wound in her forehead near the hairline.

On Friday, she scored the only goal of the game as the Cougars upended No.6 Waukee, 1-0, in the semifinals at Cownie Soccer Park.

Kennedy (15-6) will face No. 4 Dubuque Hempstead (18-2) in the championship match Saturday at 4 p.m. on Field 9.

Vogl was supposed to be hosting her own graduation party Saturday at 4 p.m., but she and her teammates have other plans now. Maybe the Cougars can turn Vogl's graduation party into a state championship party as well.

"It's absolutely amazing. I couldn't be any happier," said Vogl, who did not join the varsity until the regional playoffs began two weeks ago.

"This team, we've really come together as a family. And just to be back in the final game, it feels better than anything ever could."

Kennedy won the Class 3A state title in 2012 and is seeking its third championship in the past six years.

Vogl was involved in a scary collision Thursday during the first half of the quarterfinal match against Bettendorf when she collided with Glaus.

"The ball was above both of our heads and I went up to head it," she said. "I think I got the ball, and then I felt something a lot harder than a soccer ball. We butted heads and we both went down.

"I saw her with blood, and so I touched my forehead and I had gotten a cut, too. So they took me off and fixed me up."

Vogl returned to the game in the second half against Bettendorf, then went with her father to Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines for repairs and the seven stitches. She did not have a concussion and was cleared to play Friday.

"The kid has heart," said Kennedy Coach Scott Myers. "We did the team walk-through this morning and she was there. She's a trooper."

Vogl found herself in the right spot at the right time in the first half Friday when the Waukee goal keeper had trouble fielding a bouncing ball.

"I was coming in on the right side and I saw the ball bounce into the keeper's hands and out," she said. "I was like, 'Oh, this is my chance.'

"I was going to head it, but then I said I have to make sure this goes in, so I hit it with my foot right into the goal. And that was it."

Vogl wore a bandage around her head Friday to protect her wound. Her teammates helped her unwrap the bandage after the match, revealing the cut and the stitches.

"I guess I have a high tolerance for pain," she said.

Vogl stuck with soccer for four years before getting promoted to the varsity for the post-season tournament. "It's something I love," she explained.

Kennedy has enjoyed an amazing run in the post-season tournament. It began with an easy 10-0 victory over Waterloo West in the regional semifinals, followed by consecutive victories over No. 1 Linn-Mar, No. 2 Bettendorf and No. 6 Waukee.

"Five games ago we said we wanted a five-game winning streak," said Myers. "We started against Waterloo West and our fourth game was against Waukee today."

The fifth and final game will be against Hempstead for the Class 3A championship. The Cougars lost to No. 4 Hempstead, 3-1, in the final game of the regular season but have been bumping off ranked teams ever since.

"Our goal has never been to win the state title," said Myers. "It's to make sure we have enjoyment and in the end we're happy.

"We told a joke before the game, we told a joke at halftime, and we're telling jokes right after the game. That's a big key for us."