EDMONDS — After scoring at least one goal in 12 consecutive matches for Edmonds-Woodway, junior forward Madison Schultz was held scoreless by Shorewood in the 3A district championship match, which the Warriors won on a goal by Hailey Hull.
In Edmonds-Woodway’s opening match in the 3A state tournament on Wednesday at Edmonds Stadium, Schultz began a new streak in a big way.
The North Carolina commit recorded a hat trick in the first 20 minutes of action, leading the Warriors (16-3-1) to an emphatic 4-0 victory over Auburn Mountainview ( 12-6-1) and into a quarterfinal matchup with Seattle Prep on Saturday back at Edmonds Stadium.
The Panthers defeated Sumner 3-0 in their first-round match on Wednesday. A start time for the match is yet to be determined.
Schultz registered an unassisted tally in the sixth minute and did it herself again just over four minutes later to give Edmonds-Woodway a 2-0 advantage 11 minutes into the contest.
By the time Schultz converted from the penalty spot in the 20th minute to make it 3-0, it left the visiting Lions in a huge hole.
“We were shell-shocked,” Auburn Mountainview coach Cary Davidson said. “We knew No. 2 (Schultz) was a good player and we needed to mark her, but we lost track of her a few times. We never really got it back to a point where we could play intelligent soccer after that.”
Edmonds-Woodway’s ability to maintain possession, especially in the attacking third of the field, was a key to its dominant performance on Wednesday. The Warriors held onto the ball for vast swaths of time against the Lions, and when they didn’t have possession they worked tirelessly to get it back.
“We’re a possession-oriented team, and we pay a lot of attention to work rate on and off the ball,” Edmonds-Woodway coach Bill LeCompte said. “We were on tonight in the first half for sure, and we got it going again in the last 20 minutes of the second half.”
The Warriors dominance of the possession battle was no more evident than in a play in the second half where Edmonds-Woodway defender Ashleigh Fonsen tripped over the ball and fell while making a cut, but was still able to hang onto the ball and continue up the field.
“They had us defending so much that we weren’t able to get numbers forward,” Davidson said.
Senior goalkeeper Kiera Towell, bound for the University of Pennsylvania next season, recorded her 13th shutout of the season on Wednesday, and the Warrior defense limited the Lions to just one shot on goal that was right at her.
Auburn Mountainview was attempting to play balls forward to Josette Lake, its lone striker, but the Warriors would not allow her to break through their lines.
“I don’t know how 13 shutouts can be under the radar for anybody, but it’s a concerted effort and a goal for them to keep the clean sheet,” LeCompte said of his defenders. “It’s a team effort to make it happen and it comes from all of them working their tails off.”
One of the few offensive opportunities Auburn Mountainview could muster came after a poor corner kick by the Warriors midway through the second half. Edmonds-Woodway had numbers forward for the set piece and Lake led a counter-attack for the Lions, but Kialani Mackey cut her off and earned a throw-in for the Warriors.
But it was Schultz’s exploits in the first half that put Edmonds-Woodway in a position of advantage. After beating Auburn Mountainview goalkeeper Rachel Fieser between her legs for her first goal, she raced past a defender on the left flank, dribbled past another and slotted home with her left foot for her second tally.
She marauded into the Lions penalty area on her way for a third when she was taken down by a desperate defender, and earned her hat trick with a composed penalty kick that beat Fieser to her right.
At Edmonds-Woodway H.S.
Goals—Madison Schultz (E-W) 3, Savannah Norton (E-W). Assists—Melissa Long (E-W), Rylee Peterson (E-W). Goalkeepers—Auburn Mountainview: Rachel Fieser. Edmonds-Woodway: Kiera Towell. Records—Auburn Mountainview 12-6-1. Edmonds-Woodway 16-3-1.
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