Shorewood boys soccer tops E-W to earn trip to state

Published 10:58 pm Tuesday, May 9, 2023

SHORELINE — As even as the Shorewood Stormrays and Edmonds-Woodway Warriors have been when they’ve played this season, and as well as both teams played in those games, it was perhaps inevitable that it would require a bit of fortune to separate the two.

Ilya Mohav’s freak goal with two minutes remaining in regulation proved the difference, and the Stormrays booked their spot at state by beating the Warriors 2-1 Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Class 3A District 1 boys soccer tournament at Shoreline Stadium.

Mohav’s defensive clearance from just inside his own half was misjudged by the Edmonds-Woodway goalkeeper, as the ball bounced in front of him, over his head and into the goal to give Shorewood the lead.

But it was no less than the Stormrays deserved, as after a breathless first half saw Edmonds-Woodway take a 1-0 lead, Shorewood held the edge in play in the second half.

“Shaun (Warner, Shorewood’s coach) took us into the gym and we were looking at all the banners and he was like, ‘This is something we could do, something we could work towards,’” said Shorewood’s Isaak Abraham, who pulled the strings in midfield. “We took that to heart, we stand for family, respect and discipline, and we showed that today. It’s just an amazing feeling. (Edmonds-Woodway) is a great team, it’s the best team I think we’ve played, and we couldn’t ask for any more.”

Dzanan Fikic scored the other goal for fourth-seeded Shorewood (15-2-1), which advanced to face third-seeded Mount Vernon in the district championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Shoreline Stadium.

Victor Ibarra scored for top-seeded Edmonds-Woodway (15-1-2), which faces No. 3 Shorecrest in a winner-to-state game at 7 p.m. Thursday at Shoreline Stadium.

Shorewood and Edmonds-Woodway played a thrilling 2-2 draw during the regular season at a time when both teams were perfect in Wesco 3A/2A play, and it was more of the same Tuesday as the game was played at a breakneck pace and a high level throughout.

But Shorewood was the team that was better able to maintain that level at the start of the second half. The Stormrays carried the majority of play in the first 15 minutes after halftime, and they tied it up in the 57th minute. Blaise Clapper decided to try his luck from the right edge of the penalty box and caught the ball flush. Wilhelm was only able to parry the shot into the path of Fikic, who blasted home the rebound to knot it at 1-1.

Edmonds-Woodway picked up its play after the tying goal, and the game returned to its end-to-end state, with both teams creating scoring chances. Wilhelm was called upon to make a tremendous diving save to stop Anthony Henry in the 71st minute to keep it tied, but that only set up the finale.

”It’s what we talked about at halftime: Every team wins by effort,” Abraham said about what changed in the second half. “That’s what high school is, and we gave that. We gave our heart out, and it turned out the best for us.”

Edmonds-Woodway’s goal, which came in the 26th minute, was set up by a breathtaking 40-yard run by Ben Hanson, who rode several tackles before his shot was blocked for a corner kick. On the ensuing corner the ball pinballed around the box, eventually coming back off the crossbar before Ibarra headed it in to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.