PUYALLUP — The way the 3A girls state soccer tournament has gone for Arlington and Southridge, goals figured to be at a premium when the two teams met in Friday’s semifinal.
Arlington won each of its first two state games by a score of 1-0, while Southridge had won both of its games by a score of 2-1. The Suns needed only one goal on Friday, beating the Eagles 1-0 to move on to Saturday’s state championship game against Seattle Prep.
“I knew it was going to be a defensive battle,” Arlington head coach Nathan Davis said. “We’d been awesome defensively. They got that one set piece. We had our chances at a couple of them and just didn’t put them away. I knew it was going to be like that. That’s how we’ve played and that’s kept us in games. My (goal)keeper and defense has kept us in games and we’ve got (goals) and put games away. Today it was just soccer, sometimes you get them and sometimes you don’t.”
The Suns scored in the 38th minute off of a free kick by junior Haley Thomas that found the foot of junior Kendall Pope, whose shot beat Arlington goalkeeper Kat Sanchez.
It was the only blemish in an otherwise superb game by Sanchez, who had little chance to stop Pope’s shot. Sanchez was credited with three saves, but scooped up several other dangerous balls before Southridge could take advantage in the penalty box.
“She just runs the back really well,” Davis said. “She patrols it and she’s very quick so she covers a lot of space for a goalkeeper. She’s a very good player and a good leader — a positive kid. It’s been a sensational season for her. Today on that set piece, there was no chance. She could have made an amazing save, but that ball got drilled. … That was a pretty nice goal.”
The Suns had three shots on goal in the first half and managed the one goal. The Eagles had only one shot on goal in the first half and struggled to get the ball on the Suns’ side of the field.
But the Eagles were much more aggressive after halftime.
“I think we were playing a semifinal game instead of just playing,” Davis said. “… I talked to them at halftime and they just came out and played much harder and played more like we’ve played the last four matches.”
Senior midfielder Olivia Larson agreed nerves were a factor early.
“We were really nervous and we were timid coming out,” she said. “We went into the locker room and we talked and said that we had nothing to lose and to go out and play with everything we’ve got and that’s what we did.”
Though the Eagles were more aggressive, a goal never materialized. The game ended with Arlington having one last chance for an equalizer as the ball went out of bounds for a corner kick, but the referee blew the final whistle signaling time had expired before the Eagles ever got to take the kick.
“I’ve never seen that happen in my 30-odd years of playing,” Davis said.
After the game, Davis praised his team’s effort, not only Friday but the entire season.
“I’m super proud of how we played and how they represented their town and the high school,” Davis said. “It’s a great run for them. The seniors have really led us a long way on an awesome run.”
Larson, who is one of those seniors, was emotional after the loss.
“Going into the season we knew we had a good chance to get here and we just worked hard all year,” Larson said. “We got where we wanted to be and we put ourselves in a good position. We didn’t capitalize today, but we got here and it was a good season so far. We’ve still got one more game.”
The Eagles will face Edmonds-Woodway at 10 a.m. Saturday for third and fourth place.
At Sparks Stadium
Goals—Kendall Pope (S). Assists—Haley Thomas (S). Goalkeepers—Southridge: Tiara Valadez. Arlington: Kat Sanchez. Records—Southridge 20-2. Arlington 17-5.
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