Sanchez scores 5th goal, Stanwood beats Marysville Pilchuck 1-0

Published 10:41 pm Tuesday, September 23, 2014

MARYSVILLE — Freshman Espy Sanchez punctuated a strong second half for Stanwood with the fifth goal of her young career to lead the Spartans to a 1-0 road victory over Marysville Pilchuck in a Wesco 3A match Tuesday night at Quil Ceda Stadium.

Stanwood (2-0 league, 3-0-1 overall) weathered an early onslaught by the Tomahawks (1-1, 1-4-1) before the Spartans found their footing just before the break in their fifth consecutive road match.

That momentum carried over into the second half, and Stanwood had the run of play leading up to Sanchez’s goal, a nifty quarter-volley that dipped over and beyond the outstretched arms of Marysville Pilchuck goalkeeper Emily Dunston in the 67th minute. Jaelynn Walker assisted on the goal.

“It was a great cross from Jaelynn and I just put it in,” Sanchez said. “This win means a lot for us. We had a rough season last year, but we’re starting to come together.”

Stanwood’s strong start in 2014 can be partially attributed to the emergence of Sanchez, a super sub that comes off the bench to play a key role in the center of the Spartan offense.

“She comes in and mixes things up,” Stanwood coach Lori Stunz said of Sanchez. “The girls are really confident with her in there and she makes the people around her better. Her scoring speaks volumes about her and what she means to our team. She’s the real deal.”

Marysville Pilchuck certainly had its opportunities to get on the scoreboard prior to Sanchez’s strike late in the second half.

The Tomahawks had two good looks at goal in the first three minutes of the match, but couldn’t do enough in the final third to beat Stanwood goalkeeper Kaitlin Larson, another freshman.

Just under two minutes into the action, Jessica Moskowitz’s free kick was saved by Larson, and a minute later, she parried away an effort from Gabriella Crenshaw.

Later in the first half, Cassandra La Brake picked out Crenshaw with a low through ball, but the ball got tangled at Crenshaw’s feet. It was that kind of night for the Tomahawks, who controlled possession for large stretches of the match but didn’t have anything to show for it.

Stanwood began to establish itself in the last five minutes of the first half, when Bailey Post ran onto a ball at the top of the box and launched high.

Stunz said that Tuesday night wasn’t the first time her team started a little more slowly than she would like, but the Spartans were able to right the ship.

“Our main focus coming in was starting strong, but unfortunately that didn’t happen,” Stunz said. “We found our wheels a little bit later when we improved our first touches and started playing to feet.”

After the goal, Marysville Pilchuck threw numbers forward in hopes of finding an equalizer, but the Stanwood back line stood firm.

Jordynn Perkins replaced Larson in goal to start the second half, making her varsity debut for the Spartans.

Perkins, a junior, was the varsity starter in 2013, and had a lot to deal with in her time on the field.

She was aggressive on a Marysville Pilchuck corner kick, coming off her line to claim the ball in a crowd, and with under five minutes to go, she saved a shot by the Tomahawks’ Bianca Acuario that was bound for the top corner.

Perkins tipped away another chance off a corner kick with 3:30 to go that was the last good look at goal the Tomahawks got.

At Quil Ceda Stadium

Goals—Espy Sanchez (S). Assists—Jaelynn Walker (S). Goalkeepers—Stanwood: Kaitlin Larson, Jordynn Perkins. Marysville Pilchuck: Emily Dunston. Records—Stanwood 2-0 league, 3-0-1 overall. Marysville Pilchuck 1-1, 1-4-1.