SHORELINE — It’s been a long time coming for the Marysville-Pilchuck High School boys soccer program.
For more than two decades, the Tomahawks toiled away fruitlessly. While Western
Conference rivals Cascade and Snohomish were busy winning multiple state titles, Marysville-Pilchuck usually found itself an anonymous Wesco also-ran.
But Thursday night that long wait finally came to an end.
The Tomahawks qualified for the state tournament for the first time in 23 years by defeating the Jackson Timberwolves 1-0 in a thrilling contest at Shoreline Stadium.
Senior Nick Burdett scored the goal that gave Marysville-Pilchuck third place in the class 4A District 1 tournament, thus earning the district’s final state berth.
And for the first time since 1985 the Tomahawks are headed to the Washington high school boys soccer’s grandest stage.
“It’s going to be in history forever,” Burdett said of his team’s accomplishment. “As a senior in this program, starting off as a freshman, I didn’t think we were going to get this. But we worked hard, and coach (Geoff) Kittle, who’s brand new, has done amazing this year. So it feels great.”
M-P (15-3) will travel to face the District 3 champion in the first round on Tuesday. Time and location of the game are yet to be determined.
Jackson, trying to reach state for the first time as a 4A school, finished its season 13-4-1.
M-P appeared to have the upper hand in a first half that remained scoreless, and the Tomahawks carried that momentum into the second half, making the breakthrough in the 51st minute.
The heavy work was done by sophomore John Crenshaw, who carried the ball more than half the length of the field down the right, leaving defenders in his wake. He reached the end line and cut a pass back to Burdett in the middle. Burdett redirected the ball goalward, where it was stopped on the line by the body of sprawling Jackson defender Bryce Siguenza. However, the ball rolled back to Burdett, who punched it in to give the Tomahawks the lead.
“(Crenshaw) has been coming on the last two games,” Kittle said. “He got a goal Tuesday (in a 2-0 victory over Kamiak) and today he was getting in on plays. The whole team wants to see him come on and he’s really been coming on in the playoffs.”
However, from that moment the game changed as Jackson began playing with the desperation of a team that knew its season was on the line.
The T-wolves nearly equalized right off the restart when Tye Hastings’ shot drew a diving one-handed save from M-P goalkeeper Erik Cruz. On the ensuing corner kick, Devin Mendiola’s shot beat Cruz, but the ball was cleared off the line by the defense.
Jackson continued to create good scoring chances. Kevin Luangrath had a pair of quality opportunities which he just wasn’t able to direct on target. Then at the game’s end, Luangrath had a free shot off a rebound that stayed out when the ball caromed off his own teammate. Unfortunately for the T-wolves, it just wasn’t meant to be.
“I’m really proud for the boys because they showed how much heart they had and how much they really wanted to win that game,” Jackson coach Brett Norton said. “That was the best 20 minutes we’ve played all season. It really showed their dedication and their desire to win.”
Despite finishing third at district, the Tomahawks feel good about their chances at state. M-P was right in the hunt for the title in a Wesco North that contained multiple nationally-ranked teams — including the Tomahawks — before having to settle for second.
“We said in the beginning that if we make it to state, our destiny is ours,” Burdett said. “We feel that if we make it to state we can win the state championship. That’s how every team should feel when they make it to state. I think we’ve got a good group of boys, and I just think we can do it if we put our minds to it and play how we can.”
At Shoreline Stadium
Goals — Marysville-Pilchuck: Burdett. Assists—Marysville-Pilchuck: Crenshaw. Goalkeepers — Marysville-Pilchuck: Cruz. Jackson: K. Springer. Records — Marysville-Pilchuck 15-3. Jackson 13-4-1.
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