EVERETT — The Cascade girls soccer team doesn’t like to waste any time.
The Bruins scored two goals in the game’s first eight minutes — and two more in the first ten minutes of the second half — on their way to a 5-0 Wesco 4A crossover game Tuesday night at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Danae Weigelt and Claire Nelson scored two goals apiece and Rachel Detroit also found the back of the net for the Bruins as they defeated Arlington, the top team in the Wesco 4A North standings.
“We knew they had been playing well,” Cascade head coach Jamie Gay said. “They were in first place and scoring a lot of goals. We knew if we wanted to be in first place, we have to beat the team in first place.”
Detroit started the Bruins’ scoring in the sixth minute with a shot from 20 yards out after a pass from Alysia Coleman. Nelson, a sophomore midfielder, followed that up with a goal in the eighth minute after finding herself with the ball amid chaos in front of the Arlington goal.
Kayley Soros was credited with an assist on the play.
Cascade (5-1-1 league, 6-1-1 overall) had a 2-0 lead, eight shots on goal and dominated possession in the first half, but Gay was quick to keep his team from letting up after the break.
“Early in the game it’s not a whole lot of relief of pressure,” he said. “If Arlington gets one back it’s just a one-goal game. It was time to finish it off. We had it in our mind to jump right on it.”
The Bruins did just that after halftime — and were given a little extra time to do it. The game clock didn’t begin ticking in the second half until a couple minutes after play already had started. When it was officially the 42nd minute — two minutes after the halftime break — Cascade added to its lead again.
This time it was Weigelt, the Bruins’ leading scorer this season, getting on the board. She sent a free kick beautifully from near the sideline into the top far corner of the net.
Seven minutes later she added another on an assist from Detroit. Weigelt dribbled past two Cascade defenders to set up her shot.
Nelson added the game’s last goal in the 58th minute with an assist from Weigelt. Cascade finished the game with 15 shots on goal, compared to five for Arlington.
“We knew it was going to take a good game, but we knew our good game could do that,” Gay said pointing at the scoreboard. “We’ve got to play our best game everyday.”
Aside from the goal scorers, Gay was also very proud of his defense, which along with goalkeeper Rachel Leupold, last week’s Herald Girls Soccer Player of the Week, recorded its third straight shutout.
Gay also said that strong defense helped set up the scoring opportunities for Cascade.
“We’re great defensively,” Gay said. “… Defensively, our group is so solid. It gives these guys chances to score.”
The Bruins’ coach added high praise for senior Mikayla Whitton.
“I think Mikayla Whitton is one of the finest defenders in the league,” Gay said. “Whitton’s just a dynamic defender and someone who really locks it down for us.”
Cascade’s defense kept the Eagles (3-2-1, 4-3-1) from getting a shot on goal until the 31st minute. Arlington’s best chance to score came in the 46th minute when Sophia Hitsky sent a strike to the far post of the net. But Leupold made a diving save — she finished with five — to preserve the shutout for the Bruins.
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