Prep girls soccer: Lake Stevens 6, Arlington 0
Published 11:00 pm Monday, October 25, 2010
LAKE STEVENS — The Lake Stevens girls soccer team took hold of first place in the Wesco North, and they did it in a big way.
Lake Stevens defeated Arlington 6-0 Monday night, scoring three goals in each half for the victory in the Wesco North clash, and clinched a 4A District 1 playoff berth.
The win, combined with Snohomish’s loss to Marysville-Pilchuck Monday, vaulted the Vikings into first place at 9-5 in league, 10-5 overall with 30 points, ahead of M-P’s 29 points. Arlington fell to 1-13, 2-13.
“Honestly, we don’t have any stars, and I think that is why we have been pretty effective,” fourth-year Lake Stevens head coach Andy Knutson said of the overall team embodiment that the Vikings have encompassed. Lake Stevens graduated nine seniors last year, losing much of its firepower, but have had a balanced attack much of the season, much like Monday night’s win.
Two minutes in, Dani Walsh (Cici Carter assist) scored the Vikings’ first goal, with Brooke Pahukoa scoring (Randi Mielke) in the 18th minute for a quick 2-0 advantage. Lindsay Licht added Lake Steven’s third goal (Lian McGuire) for a 3-0 halftime lead.
In a 13-minute span, the Vikings tacked on three more goals. Montana Wahlberg (Pahukoa) scored in the 66th minute and 73rd minute, and Pahukoa added the Vikings’ final talley for a 6-0 lead in the 79th minute.
Lake Stevens’ Kiaya Paulsen and Hunter Young combined for the shutout in goal.
“There is no one that is overwhelmingly over the top,” Knutson admitted of his team’s statistics. “I’m not sure who is going to step up next for us, and I like it that way.”
But someone will need to step up to the challenge that faces Lake Stevens Wednesday, as they faceoff against M-P in the battle for the Wesco North crown.
“We are trying to focus on reaching the playoffs, and we did that tonight,” Knutson said with understandable relief. “Now we have to be focused on Wednesday. That’s a big game for us.”
