EDMONDS — The Meadowdale Mavericks were somehow able to hold off the Columbia River Chieftains’ attack for the entire first half.
The second half was a different story.
The Chieftains scored three goals, the first coming two minutes in to the second half, and defeated Meadowdale 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the 3A state soccer tournament at Edmonds Stadium.
“They play a good game,” Mavericks’ head coach Chris Baldwin said. “They’ll do well (at state).”
Columbia River scored its first goal in the 42nd minute by Eden Behrens. The Chieftains sent a pass into a swarm of players right in front of the goal. After Meadowdale goalkeeper Julia Grossenbacher blocked one shot, Behrens collected the rebound and put it in the top left corner of the goal.
Columbia River struck again 10 minutes later when Mindii Hunsaker scored off an assist from Heidi Bucklin.
Hannah Kinsey scored in the 61st minute to round out the scoring for the visitors.
“Throughout the season, for the most part, we’ve put the pressure on our opponents,” Baldwin said. “They came out sharper and more aggressive than we did.”
The first thirty minutes of the game were spent almost exclusively on Meadowdale’s side of the field. The Mavericks were able to weather Columbia River’s offensive onslaught which had eight shots on goal in the first half, compared to two for the Mavericks.
The Chieftains were aggressive right from the start, which showed in their offense and defense. Columbia River was whistled for six fouls in the opening half, which eventually helped to get Meadowdale’s offense going.
The Mavericks’ two shots came in the last 10 minutes of the half, when Meadowdale began to turn on the pressure and find itself with a few opportunities for goals. A questionable offside call took away another chance for Meadowdale to score.
The Mavericks were unable to connect and both teams remained scoreless at halftime.
“We couldn’t establish our kind of play,” Baldwin said. “They’re a good team.”
Meadowdale came out rejuvenated in the second half and never gave up. It continued to develop scoring opportunities. After the Chieftains’ goalkeeper ran out to kick a shot at the edge of the keeper box, Julia Fjortoft collected the ball, and kicked toward an open goal about 25 yards away. The ball rolled just outside the right goalpost.
“Just the drive from the girls, they never gave up (all season),” Baldwin said. “They fought every minute of every game. They should be extremely happy with as far as we got. Their chemistry off the field is as great as it is on.”
Fjortoft had another good shot near the left corner of the field, but keeper Teagan Ryan came up big again for Columbia River, jumping into a group of players in front of the goal and grabbing the ball.
Columbia River outshot Meadowdale 16-6 over the course of the game.
One big positive was the play of Mavericks’ goalkeeper Grossenbacher. The sophomore came up big, especially in the first half when she registered eight of her 12 saves.
After the game Baldwin took the time to thank his team for a great season, and singled out the Mavericks’ seniors, which include Fjortoft, Mackenzie Stapleton, Kaeli Eberth and defenders Macee Gavett and Carly Holmes.
“Hats off to the seniors,” he said. “They had an incredible career at Meadowdale. They all have bright futures ahead of them. They were the leaders of the squad.”
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