ATM advances to state girls soccer tourney

EDMONDS — As she lined up to take the corner kick, Archbishop Thomas Murphy’s Kat Taylor eyed the far post.

Taylor was looking to direct the ball to one of her teammates, who were out in front of the goal.

The Wildcats were locked in a fierce battle with Charles Wright in a winner-to-state Tri-district girls soccer game. Neither team had scored, though Archbishop Murphy had several close misses.

With about 11 minutes remaining in the second half, the two teams were looking at overtime.

But with one kick Taylor eliminated that possibility, scoring the lone goal in the game to lead Archbishop Murphy to a 1-0 triumph over the Tarriers Nov. 9 at Edmonds Stadium.

“My foot just kind of twisted differently, so it (ball) went in. It curved,” Taylor said.

Because the Wildcats generally dominated play in the first half, Taylor felt it was just a matter of time before they scored.

“We just kept pushing and kept trying and eventually it came,” she said.

The Wildcats face Overlake in a state quarterfinal game at 7 p.m. tonight (Friday, Nov. 15) at Everett Memorial Stadium.

Archbishop Murphy had a better than four to one edge in shots after the first half. The Wildcats kept the pressure on after halftime.

“We were trying to keep our stamina and keep playing hard,” Taylor said.

Wildcats coach Pat Jack felt her team was fortunate to walk out with a victory over a tough Charles Wright squad.

“That was a really strong team. I was impressed,” Jack said. “We had never seen that team before. It was close. I felt we had some opportunities. I felt we were going to score. It was kind of touch and go.”

Several of Archbishop Murphy’s shots either went off the crossbar or one of the posts.

“We had some awfully close ones,” said Jack. “We just weren’t quick lucky enough.”

While Taylor provided the lone goal, the shots came from a variety of sources. Several Wildcats figured into the offensive mix, which is the way Jack likes it.

“We just weren’t feeding one person,” she said. “We had four or five people taking shots.”

After taking the lead, the Wildcats had to withstand a spirited comeback attempt from the Tarriers, who nevertheless still had trouble controlling the ball in Archbishop Murphy territory.

“They really started putting the pressure after we scored and when that happens, it’s anybody’s game,” Jack said.

But the Wildcats’ response, especially by the defense, preserved the victory. The defense has been one of the strong points of an Archbishop Murphy team that improved its overall record to 15-0-1.

Brenna Rice and Teresa Mathias both played key roles in the Wildcats’ defensive efforts.

“Our defense held up very well,” Jack said. “The two of them worked very well. Teresa was very aggressive in the second half … I don’t think she let any of (the Tarriers) go by in the second half.”

This year’s team could be even better than last year’s team, which took third place at state. The bench is much improved from a year ago, which enabled Jack to make frequent substitutions.

“We have three subs who are equivalent to the ones on the field and we’ve never had that before,” Jack said. “Some of them can switch from midfield to defense and midfield to offense … it helps to be able to mix them up like that.”