Edmonds-Woodway boys soccer stuns Monroe with shootout win at State

MERCER ISLAND — A 40-yard goal, a point-blank save and countless headers to decide key possessions highlighted a state second-round duel between Wesco rival boys soccer squads Edmonds-Woodway and Monroe Friday night.

When the dust settled, the No. 11 Warriors (13-6-2) would be the ones roaring with glee in front of their fans, defeating the No. 6 Bearcats (15-3-0) for the second time this season. It was only fitting for the tight matchup to end in a penalty shootout, in which the Warriors hit every shot to win the shootout 4-3 after drawing 2-2 in the first 80 minutes plus overtime.

Elation in the foreground, heartbreak in the back. pic.twitter.com/ZYopmTvug4— Qasim Ali (@qasimasports) May 24, 2025

“I prayed for times like this,” junior goalkeeper Daniel Abraham said after the win. “I hoped it would happen that way, and it did.”

It wasn’t all perfect for the Warriors, who, true to their namesake, battled all afternoon.

Edmonds-Woodway struck early as senior captain Alex Plumis found senior Joey Dornay after a quick run-out in the fourth minute, marking the second straight game where the Bearcats fell behind early.

“In the pre-game huddle, we tell ourselves we gotta be the first team to score, because we know that momentum’s a huge part of our game,” Plumis said.

Momentum swung freely for the rest of the first half, as the two physical squads positioned themselves for headers at midfield. Despite the constant movement, neither squad could get decent looks at the net. Monroe wouldn’t record a shot on goal until the 26th minute and couldn’t force the Warriors into facing their vaunted corner kick until the 37th.

Abraham recognized the threat on that corner kick and leaped over every player in the box to secure the ball before any damage could be assessed — he came up hobbled from the fall. The Warriors led 1-0 at halftime, but most of the emotional swings were still waiting to happen.

Monroe senior Cody Duncan launched a free kick into the box for a header that was saved by Abraham in the 43rd minute. But the Bearcats’ relentless offensive push to begin the half continued as junior defender Yoav Mendez Rojas stole a slow pass at midfield and pushed it forward to junior forward Tony Granados. Granados wasted no time, launching a shot to the top left corner from about 20 yards out as Abraham could only watch.

The Warriors as a whole could only watch as Granados sprinted back upfield, jersey in hand, to rally his team.

But Edmonds-Woodway, an eighth-place state finisher last year and fourth-place team two seasons ago with 13 seniors rostered, didn’t blink while they watched their lead evaporate.

Plumis nearly put the Warriors back on top in the 51st before Monroe keeper Pedro Gaspar won a one-on-one with the Warriors star. But Edmonds-Woodway got the lead back just three minutes later, as senior captain Ben Browne found fellow senior Oliver Zoloth in close for a sneaky goal.

With the clock reading a hair under 19 minutes to play in their season and in senior defender Zach Pazier’s high school soccer career, the Bearcats knew they needed a spark.

Pazier, who played left back for most of the evening, had noticed Abraham stray away from the goal all game to play a higher line. Pazier decided to put his observations to the test in a high-pressure moment.

“Might as well,” Pazier said of his thought process before launching a 40-plus-yard shot. “If I don’t score, it’s still a hard save to make either way and you can follow that second ball.”

No second ball needed.

Pazier’s line-drive shot zoomed past Abraham’s outstretched hand, flying directly into the center of the goal.

With the momentum somehow swung back in Monroe’s favor, the game felt destined to go to extra time. After some well-defended corners from Monroe, the two squads headed for two golden-goal overtime periods.

And in the first minute, Monroe was precisely one Daniel Abraham away from being golden.

Duncan lofted just the second Monroe corner of the game perfectly into the box, which was met by a solid header less than five yards from the goal. With the ball set to fly straight over Abraham again, the junior shot an arm up to deflect it over the crossbar.

“I just kept pushing through, and it got me to where I am right now with a big win,” Abraham said of his mentality after seeing two goals in the game.

With neither squad getting another look that good for the rest of the 10-minute overtime, it was time for penalty kicks. Monroe senior Connor Dayley nailed his opening shot, as did Shorewood senior Takumi Miyagi. But Duncan’s attempt hit the right post as Shorewood continued to drill their shots.

Another miss off the right post from senior Tristan Coe spelled out the end for Monroe as unsettling anticipation turned into pure joy for the Warriors.

“Honestly, this might be a top one or two (game) I could think of,” Plumis said, having been a part of high-stakes state games for years. “This was our first state penalty shootout, so this one, it means a lot to us.”

For the Bearcats, the loss marked the end of the road for eight seniors. The whole Monroe squad ran over from midfield to check on Coe, who lay on the field after the shootout.

“I told (Coe), this game is literally 5-0 if he’s not in the game; he’s so important to us,” Pazier said. “A pen is a pen, it happens, right?”

Although the 2025 campaign is over for the Wesco 3A/2A North champs and District 1 runners-up, this team will always be a family for Dayley.

“The result doesn’t matter, but the work that you put in to get the result does,” Dayley said. “All the times going to the fields in Monroe during the summer, hopping the fence to the high school right before the season … me and the rest of the seniors working hard together, I think that will be the main thing I think about when I think about this season.”

It’ll be right back to work for Edmonds-Woodway, which will take on the winner of No. 14 Kent-Meridian and No. 3 Mercer Island on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Mercer Island High School.