Murphy boots Cedarcrest
Published 10:39 pm Tuesday, September 20, 2011
EVERETT — Archbishop Murphy girls soccer coach Shannon Murray knew his team was strong this season. He just didn’t know how strong.
After a 3-1 victory over previously undefeated Cedarcrest Tuesday night at Terry Ennis Stadium, Murray has a much better idea about his team’s strength.
“Credit (the Red Wolves) they came out and made us have to work for it tonight,” Murray said. “That’s the first time we’ve had that all year, so that’s fantastic.
“A great result for us. That team (Cedarcrest) is going to be there at the end of the year. They are very, very good.”
Murphy, which improved to 2-0 in the Cascade Conference and 5-0 overall, expected a stiff test against Cedarcrest (1-1, 4-1).
“I went in kind of scared because last year was a pretty close game and I knew this year was going to be even closer,” Murphy’s Shelby Koch said. “But we came out strong and it seemed to go our way in the beginning. In the end they gave us a run for our money.”
Koch and Kelly Gould each had a goal and an assist from the midfield for Murphy.
The Wildcats started slow as the Cedarcrest attack dominated the first ten minutes. Red Wolves freshman forward Karli White pressured Murphy keeper Anna Whitehouse a few times, but had no serious chances. Murray made a defensive adjustment and the Wildcats controlled possession for most of the rest of the half.
In the 18th minute Murphy’s Brooke Busch chipped a kick over the Red Wolves’ defense to the waiting feet of Koch, who finished to give the Wildcats a 1-0 edge.
“I saw Brooke Busch on the right side and I called out the ball and she hit it perfectly,” Koch said. “I made the run. I didn’t really know where the goalie was, so I just kicked it and it went far post. So it went my way.”
Three minutes later Gould made a deep run to track down a runaway ball in the left corner. Her cross soared in front of the goal and Lindsey Ryan swatted the ball just inside the near post to give the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage.
Cedarcrest coach Evan Hatch was impressed with his first look at the Wildcats.
“Shannon (Murray) has them very well organized,” Hatch said. “Their team played very well together. It was tough for us to beat because they are so well organized.”
In the early going of the second half, Koch took a corner kick, driving it low in front of the goal. Cedarcrest keeper Nichole Pearson came out to clear it, but Gould beat her too the ball and poked it into the net to give Murphy a 3-0 lead in the 43rd minute.
“I usually just aim for the top of the six (-yard box) and Kelly Gould is always there,” Koch said. “It’s good to know that we have her to finish those.”
The Wildcats briefly lost focus after the goal. That allowed Laura Hisler to get behind the defense and the Cedarcrest senior captain drove a shot into the back of the net past Whitehouse to trim the lead to 3-1.
As the game wound down, Cedarcrest turned up the intensity and urgency, putting the Wildcat defense on their heels, but Murphy held its ground and kept the Red Wolves from finding a second goal.
“It was a big win,” Murphy captain Stephanie Conard said. “We knew Cedarcrest was going to be a tough game.”
Though his team has played well, Hatch is still seeking a signature win in his first year at the helm of the program.
“Our team needs to focus and be able to beat teams like this that are very good,” he said. “We do have a lot of skill in a lot of key areas, but we need to be able to focus on putting it together for a full 80 minutes.”
The Wildcats all wore pink ribbons and ponytails as part of this week’s Breast Cancer Awareness week at Archbishop Murphy. In addition to selling pink cookies and lemonade in school throughout the week, the entire girls soccer team will be going around the stands during Murphy’s home football game against Sultan Friday with buckets to collect donations to breast cancer charities.
