Lake Stevens looks to its leaders

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, October 31, 2006

LAKE STEVENS – The Lake Stevens girls soccer team relied on its experience Tuesday.

The Vikings captured a 2-1 Class 4A District 1 semifinal victory over Cascade in a shootout at Lake Stevens High School Stadium.

Lake Stevens seniors Taylor Cochran, Amber Pratt, Raelynne Lee and junior Alyssa Licht all buried their penalty kicks into the back of the net to lead the Vikings to the 4-2 win in the shootout.

“All four kickers are leaders on the team,” Lake Stevens coach Dianne Mattingly said. “They stepped up with confidence and placed it, that’s all you can ask for.”

“Everyone who stepped up and took them was confident in placing them in the corner,” Lee said.

Lake Stevens will play its biggest rival, Snohomish, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Shoreline Stadium for the district’s third and final state tournament berth. Snohomish defeated The Panthers defeated the Vikings twice during the regular season.

“It’s going to be such an intense game,” Lee said. “It will be such a physical and demanding battle.”

“The girls are excited to see them again,” Mattingly said of facing Snohomish. “Every game they have beat us, I felt we were the better team.”

“I am so excited for that game,” Cochran said. “It is definitely frustrating losing to them. It is always so physical and mental with them, that’s why I like to play them.”

Lee, who has verbally committed to St. Johns, scored the opening goal of the game in the 24th minute. Lee received a pass from Kristina McGee and took a touch to set up a lofting left-footed shot that was out of the reach of Cascade goalkeeper Brittany Greene.

“She does things like that,” Cochran said of her fellow midfielder. “She works her butt off and she deserves it. I love playing with her. She makes me and everyone else look better.”

“They are not cocky girls” Mattingly said of Lee and Cochran, who is verbally committed to UCLA. “They are confident they can get it done and no other team has two dynamic D-1 players on their team.”

Cascade’s Jennifer Beasley scored in the 74th minute off a 40-yard Andrea Cordova free kick from the left side that the Vikings defense failed to clear out of danger to send the game into two scoreless overtimes.

“The back side of our defense had a lapse,” Mattingly said. “We coach not to give up silly fouls but it was a 40-yard free kick, not much else I can say about it.”

For Cascade seniors Cordova, Liz Gross, Asmina Loukas, Monica Hansen, Ashley McGran, Britney Bachmann and Jessica Stavick it was their last game as members of the Bruins soccer team.

“It is group of kids that really held our Bruin tradition of soccer strong for four years,” Cascade coach Jamie Gay said.” This is our ninth consecutive year we have been in the playoffs and our seniors led us to penalty kicks against a team that played in the state semifinals last year.”

At Lake Stevens H.S.

Goals-Cascade: Beasley. Lake Stevens: Lee. Assists-Lake Stevens McGee. Goalkeepers-Cascade: Greene, Hampton. Lake Stevens: Three Stars. Records-Cascade: 7-7-5 overall. Lake Stevens 14-4-1.