Marysville-Pilchuck makes history with district soccer title

Published 10:36 pm Saturday, May 16, 2009

EDMONDS — When the final whistle sounded, the seniors on the Marysville-Pilchuck High School boys soccer team embraced near midfield, secure in the knowledge that it was under their watch that the Tomahawks made history.

Marysville-Pilchuck earned the first district title in school history Saturday afternoon as the Tomahawks defeated the Kamiak Knights 1-0 in the Class 4A District 1 championship game at Edmonds District Stadium.

“It’s history,” Tomahawks senior co-captain Brady Ballew said. “We had every single guy out there working hard and they deserve every single bit of it. We’re a big family out here.”

Kevin Chavez scored the game’s lone goal as Marysville-Pilchuck, the Wesco North champion, completed what had been a quest from day one.

“Our goal was set right from the beginning,” senior co-captain Seth Jones said. “All year we were looking to achieve that and we got it, so it’s a great accomplishment for us as a team.

“But we’re not settling for that, we’re looking for more.”

That “more” would be a run at the state championship. Marysville-Pilchuck (16-0-2), kicks that journey off by playing host to the fifth seed from District 3 in the first round. That game takes place Tuesday at Lake Stevens High School.

But earning the right to host a first-round game was no easy task for the Tomahawks. Kamiak controlled large stretches of the game, twice had goals nullified because of the offsides flag, and gave Marysville-Pilchuck goalkeeper Kyle Bluhm a workout. Bluhm made some good saves, but more often raced off his line to thwart Kamiak attacks before the Knights could get a shot off.

“It was kind of a tough game for us today,” Marysville-Pilchuck coach Geoff Kittle said. “We didn’t really possess the ball as well as we would have liked to and we ended up defending a lot more than we should have. But in the end these guys find a way to win, that’s the really impressive thing about them.”

Kamiak (10-8), the top seed from the Wesco South, must travel across the mountains to face the District 5/6/8 second-place team in the first round.

“It was a tough loss,” Kamiak coach Garfield Scott said. “It could have gone either way, but hats off to Marysville, they played a good game and worked hard, as we did. They just got the goal and we didn’t.

“But I’m proud of the lads and all the work they’ve put in this season.”

During a dead-even first half that saw both teams threaten, it was a moment of magic that gave the Tomahawks the lead in the half’s final minute.

John Crenshaw received the ball, then put on a burst of acceleration that left two Kamiak defenders in his wake as he reached the end line. Crenshaw then pulled a pass back out front to Chavez, who one-timed his shot past stranded Kamiak goalkeeper Caleb Smith to give Marysville-Pilchuck the lead.

The game changed in the second half as Kamiak began to dominate, thanks to solid build-up play. The Tomahawks received a let-off in the 52nd minute when Josh Harris’ volley hit the post before being corralled by Bluhm. Then the Knights got the ball in the net in the 56th minute on Tyler Hawkinson’s header, but the goal was disallowed for offsides. It was the second time Kamiak had a goal denied for offsides, Clayton Dubin’s first-half header also being waved off because of offsides.

Snohomish 3, Jackson 1

The Panthers used their heads to win the Class 4A District 1 third-place game, thus keeping their impressive streak intact.

Thomas Sheets, Brendon Gundry and MacKenzie Nutt scored during a 16-minute span of the first half — each of the three goals either scored or set up with a header — as Snohomish (14-4-1) booked the district’s final berth to state after a comprehensive victory. By taking third the Panthers ran their streak of consecutive state appearances to 11.

“The guys took it on themselves,” said Snohomish coach Dan Pingrey, whose team travels to play the District 3 champion in the first round. “They admitted it was their fault (losing 4-3 to Kamiak in the opening round), took responsibility for it, and this has been the best four or five days of training and games we’ve had all season.”

Sheets opened the scoring in the 10th minute, heading home after Gundry’s cross skipped through the box. The pair returned the favor in the 20th minute, Sheets’ header sending Gundry free to chip the ball over Jackson goalkeeper Eric Hodel. Nutt made it 3-0 in the 26th minute, heading in Carson Pingrey’s corner kick.

Tye Hastings scored a late consolation goal for Jackson, which finished its season 13-4-2.