EDMONDS
When Wade Foley took over as head coach of the Meadowdale girls soccer team during the off-season, he wasn’t quite sure what kind of team he had.
With just three seniors returning from a team coming off consecutive trips to the 3A state tournament and a defense that needed complete rebuilding due to graduation, Foley hoped that the Mavericks would be able to reload rather than rebuild.
Meadowdale’s 1-0 win over Mount Vernon (16-2-1) Nov. 1 at Edmonds Stadium showed that Foley has something special.
“We lost a lot of players last year, but we have a lot of talent on our team,” said senior forward Alisa Sagdahl, who scored the game’s only goal.
The victory sends Meadowdale (15-3) to the state tournament once again. But first is the 3A District 1 championship against Everett at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at Shoreline Stadium.
“I’m ecstatic,” Sagdahl said. “It’s a good feeling to have a win and a state spot in our pocket.”
The Seagulls (17-0-1) defeated Shorecrest 2-0 on Tuesday to advance to the final. The Wesco 3A champs already have handed Meadowdale two of its three regular-season losses.
“It’s a known commodity with them,” Foley said of Everett. “It will be a battle for us.”
Going into Tuesday, the Mount Vernon Bulldogs weren’t much of a know commodity. Foley said before the game he hadn’t seen them play and the extent of his scouting came from a conversation with the Glacier Peak coaches after the Grizzlies lost 2-1 to Mount Vernon in the district tournament’s first round.
The Bulldogs bulldozed through Northwest Conference play undefeated. Before Tuesday, the last time they did not win was in early September against 2A power Lakewood when the teams tied 1-1. Their only previous loss came on Sept. 6 against Sehome, the Northwest Conference’s top 2A team.
Mount Vernon played Tuesday without its starting center midfielder, who suffered an injury in the Glacier Peak game and will miss the rest of the season. Coach Gary Warman said her absence was critical especially in the first half when the Bulldogs struggled to mount much of an attack.
“We played a little intimidated in the first half,” Warman said.
Sagdahl scored for Everett in the 35th minute, collecting a rebound from the left side of the penalty area and powering a ground shot through several Mount Vernon defenders. The ball hit the far post and ricocheted into the net, much to the surprise of Mount Vernon keeper Katie Keck.
Warman thought it was difficult for his team to adjust to the physical play of the Mavericks and was disappointed that the referees didn’t call more fouls.
“I give Meadowdale credit,” Warman said. “They brought their hockey sticks and smashed the (stuff) out of us tonight.”
Mount Vernon fought back in the second half and Meadowdale suffered an injury of its own. Defender Alexa Thompson went out with what Foley called a “knocked knee” and missed the remainder of the game, leaving the Mavericks without one of three seniors and their most experienced defender. Foley expects Thompson will be fine against Everett.
Warman shuffled his lineup a bit and Mount Vernon found its offense but couldn’t find the equalizer.
Foley said he was proud of his freshman keeper Ashley Routh for posting a shutout and remaining poised, especially in the 72nd minute when Routh was there to save what looked like a certain own goal off the foot of a Maverick defender.
“That was a real scary moment for us,” Foley said.
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