MUKILTEO — The Edmonds-Woodway girls soccer team scored 13 goals in its first two games.
In their third contest against Kamiak, the Warriors had to fight all night just for one.
Salina Saucedo scored the lone goal of the game in the 64th minute and goalkeeper Kiera Towell made sure that would be enough as Edmonds-Woodway hung on to defeat the Knights 1-0 in a Wesco South 4A game Tuesday night at Kamiak High School.
“I didn’t expect us to do what we’ve done (offensively),” Edmonds-Woodway head coach Bill LeCompte said. “I think Kamiak is going to be right at the top of the league with us.”
Both teams battled in a scoreless game until the ball took a Warriors’ bounce. With 16 minutes to play in the second half, the ball bounced off several players from both sides in Kamiak territory, Saucedo finally collected it and launched a hot 25 yards into the top far corner of the goal.
There was little Kamiak goalkeeper Shannon Peth could do.
“Salina’s done a great job just finding space,” LeCompte said. “It’s her fourth year on the squad and she always seems to know where she’s at.”
It was the only one of the Warriors’ 12 shots to get past Peth, who had a strong showing in goal. In the closing seconds of the first half, Peth deflected one shot that went right to Edmonds-Woodway’s Gabby Clark.
Clark shot again but Peth jumped up from the ground and hit the ball just enough to send it over the goal before the half ended.
On the other side of the field, Towell stopped nine Kamiak attempts, including a diving save on Bailey Lux-Lowry’s shot in the 35th minute that Towell was just able to get a piece of and send away from the goal.
“We both had opportunities,” LeCompte said. “Both goalkeepers came up huge.”
LeCompte said that he has a lot of faith in Towell, a junior, and in his defense to stop opposing teams’ attacks.
“I didn’t sweat too much of the stuff,” LeCompte said. “(Towell) definitely gives me some piece of mind.”
Both teams came into the game having not allowed a goal this season on their way to 2-0 records. Edmonds-Woodway had scored a combined 13 goals while taking care of Mariner and Cascade. Kamiak, which ended the Warriors’ season last year in the district tournament, had handled Jackson and the Bruins by a combined score of 6-0.
Goals were much more difficult to come by in Tuesday’s contest.
“Kamiak’s a good squad,” LeCompte said. “Definitely the strongest competition we’ve seen to date. I didn’t expect anything less. It was just back and forth. Just a good, all-out kind of brawl.”
Both teams had scoring opportunities in the first half, with the Knights having a slight edge in time of possession. LeCompte said Kamiak’s speed got to the Warriors in the early minutes, before they settled down and were able to stand up to the Knights.
“Early on, I want to say we’ve got to hold more to our style of play,” LeCompte said. “We got caught up in Kamiak’s higher-pace style of approach.”
The Warriors’ coach said the game was a good early season measure of where his team stands.
“I think it’s a good test to see where we’re at,” LeCompte said. “It puts us in a good spot in the South and gives us a little bit of breathing room.”
At Kamiak H.S.
Goals–Salina Saucedo (E-W). Assists–none. Goalkeepers–Edmonds-Woodway: Kiera Towell. Kamiak: Shannon Peth. Records–Edmonds-Woodway 3-0 league, 3-0 overall. Kamiak 2-1, 2-1.
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