VANCOUVER – The Evergreen Plainsmen scored only one goal against the Snohomish Panthers, but it was enough.
Senior forward Brooke Koppi’s game-winning header off a well-placed corner kick by senior midfielder Tiffany Heward gave Evergreen a 1-0 victory over the Panthers in the first round of the 4A state soccer playoffs at McKenzie Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Koppi’s winner came at the 25-minute mark in the game. After that it was all defense and close calls.
“Snohomish came out fighting tonight and I think we did an excellent job of holding our own,” Plainsmen coach Keenan Burris said. “I don’t know exactly how long it’s been since someone from our area won a state playoff game, but it’s definitely been a long time. This feels excellent.”
Evergreen received a huge night from goalkeeper Kristen Palmer.
Palmer collected nine saves in the game, four of which were loose balls inside the Plainsmen’s penalty area.
“Kristen was awesome for us,” Burris said.
The Panthers’ inability to score hurt them all season. Going into Tuesday’s game, they had only scored six goals in their last six games. Their offensive struggles continued against the Plainsmen, as they spent the majority of the game chasing down Evergreen’s Koppi, Hannah Etterngoff and Nicole Archibeque.
Koppi pushed Evergreen’s offense from the get-go. Using aggressive play that matched Snohomish’s intensity, Koppi appeared a notch above everyone else on the field.
“I haven’t really been that happy with how I’ve been playing as of late,” she said. “So, tonight, I decided to come out here and just give it everything I had.”
Koppi did.
Inspiring her Evergreen teammates, Koppi consistently used her speed and ball-handling skills to outmaneuver Panthers defenders.
With Koppi on one side of the field, Archibeque on the other, and Palmer in the goal, Snohomish was unable to mount a serious threat.
And every time that the Panthers came close to scoring, Palmer always seemed in the right place at the right time.
Two long Snohomish shots, which appeared to be certain goals, were both knocked over the Evergreen crossbar by Palmer at the last second. Palmer also twice knocked down Panther players as she dove and fought for saves.
“We’ve done a great job of sticking together as a team,” Burris said beaming. “I’m so proud of our girls. We’ve surprised a lot of people this year and I hope we continue to as the playoffs roll on.”
At McKenzie Stadium
Goals-Evergreen: Koppi. Assists-Evergreen: Heward. Goalkeepers-Snohomish: Goverde. Evergreen: Palmer. Records-Snohomish 11-6-3 overall. Evergreen 11-2-4.
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