SNOHOMISH — Sophie Judd overcame car problems and a late start to help Edmonds-Woodway turn the tide of Tuesday’s soccer game.
The end result was a tale of two halves — and a draw between two teams that are shaping up to be powers in the Wesco South this year.
Edmonds-Woodway and Glacier Peak fought to a 0-0 draw in the final nonconference high school girls soccer game for both schools Tuesday night at Glacier Peak High School.
“Absolutely it’s frustrating (not to have a winner or loser),” Glacier Peak head coach Melinda Torre said. “It’s one of those things were you feel like if the kids could just put a goal in they’d relax. … It’s a battle over whose going to get that momentum, and unfortunately it (just didn’t happen).”
Judd, a junior defender, was a big help to Edmonds-Woodway in preserving the tie.
Due to transportation troubles, she didn’t arrive until the first half was nearly over. She played the last five minutes of the first half and all of the second, according to Edmonds-Woodway head coach Bill LeCompte.
Glacier Peak noticed the difference.
After controlling the ball for much of the first half and accruing several near misses — including a few shots that hit the post and bounced out — Glacier Peak couldn’t build off that momentum in the second.
“She saved them on a number of occasions,” Glacier Peak head coach Melinda Torre said of Judd’s performance in the second half. “She was really solid in the back. A good player.”
Edmonds-Woodway no longer buses their kids to games due to budget constraints — a problem Torre is grateful Glacier Peak doesn’t have to deal with.
“(Judd’s situation is) the unfortunate thing about a lack of funding,”
Torre said. “ …They’re not getting bused like they used to.”
Senior Nicole Giovine recorded the shutout for Glacier Peak in the net, and Justine Ponton recorded her fourth shutout for Edmonds-Woodway.
With the tie, Glacier Peak moved to 5-1-1 overall, and Edmonds-Woodway, which has yet to lose this year, moved to 4-0-3.
The success of both teams in the preseason is a little unexpected — Edmonds-Woodway was picked by other Wesco South coaches to finish in seventh in The Herald’s preseason coaches poll, and Glacier Peak was picked to finish fourth.
Regardless of the fact that conference play doesn’t start until Thursday, the early returns in 2009 have been tremendously favorable for both squads — Edmonds-Woodway has defeated 2008 4A state qualifier Kamiak and the defending Wesco South champion Meadowdale so far.
Glacier Peak beat Meadowdale earlier this year and also Shorecrest, which placed fourth at 3A state in 2008.
The end result — surprisingly to some — is that Glacier Peak, Edmonds-Woodway and Jackson High School (4th place at 4A state) are shaping up to be some of the best in the Wesco South so far.
“Coming off last year to this year, it’s exciting to see the growth,” LeCompte said of his team, which has only four seniors on the roster.
“We’re young,” LeCompte added, “But the other side of it is the adversity we’ve dealt with (3-6-0 in conference last year) has aged us and given us maturity.”
Glacier Peak, meanwhile, can thank in large part it’s first-ever senior class for the hot start.
“It’s an interesting position to be in,” Torre said of Glacier Peak, which did not have a senior class to graduate during its inaugural year in 2008. “We do have more leaders on the team. We have nine seniors now. … Last year everyone was looking around and waiting for someone else to step forward.”
Both coaches are looking forward to the rematch between Glacier Peak and Edmonds-Woodway, which will occur in the final week of the regular season.
“It’ll be interesting to see what happens next time,” LeCompte said.
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