STANWOOD — Jo Cort saw an opening and went for it.
After nearly 40 minutes of back-and-forth play between Snohomish girls soccer and the host Stanwood at Bob Larson Stadium on Thursday, neither side able to generate significant traction, the Snohomish junior had the ball well outside the 18-yard box towards the right side of the field. With just enough space to deliver a long ball and potentially shock the goalkeeper, Cort chipped it high towards the net.
“That was a funny one,” Cort said of her shot. “That was kind of hope for the best. That one was kind of just, ‘Is it going in?’”
As the ball hit its peak and fell, everyone in the stadium wondered where it would land. It fell with the same trajectory as if someone had dropped it out of a passing plane, almost straight down. So when it fell directly past the goal line and into the net, it took a second to register what had happened.
‘Is it going in?’ Somehow, it did.
Taking a 1-0 lead in the final two minutes of the first half, the celebration practically went straight into the break, and the Panthers (5-2-0, 3-0-0 league) stormed out of the gate in the second to score four more times and secure a 5-0 victory against the Spartans (3-4-0, 2-1-0). Cort scored two goals, but her first set the tone for the rest of the night.
“I think it gave us a little bit of hope,” said senior Nevaeh Howerton, who made it 2-0 early in the second half. “Because we were feeling down and like, ‘Oh my gosh, we need to score a goal,’ and then once we scored, it brought us into the next half.”
Along with the mental boost, Snohomish coach Brielle Dodge made some key adjustments in the second half that set things into motion. After starting the game with a shuffled lineup due to several injuries on the roster, Dodge moved sophomore Kennedy Perasso from the midfield back to her natural position at center back. By resetting the foundation in the back line, the Panthers were able to stabilize their end of the pitch and force the action into Stanwood’s side.
“It’s funny because you’d think putting your players that are great up top should do you better,” Dodge said. “But really it’s going back to that foundational work and making sure that my back line is solid, and then building off that.”
After a low-event first half, the Panthers started to create chances almost instantly. Snohomish put three shots on goal in the first five minutes before Howerton rebounded the third one into the net, following up freshman Jenna Pahre’s initial shot to make it 2-0 in the 46th minute.
Around three minutes later, Cort struck again, sliding to the ground while slipping a shot just inside the left post to finish off another rush upfield with her teammates. In a blink, the Panthers had seized full control of the game.
“Jo’s the most versatile player I have on my team,” Dodge said. “I can play her in literally any position on the field, and she’s a value add for us. So Jo got us talking, I moved her from defense to the midfield. She was commanding in the best way possible for her teammates.”
Dodge also praised Pahre’s relentless motor in the attack, as well as the energy brought by the bench. Inspired by seeing Cal Poly’s players stand the entire game a few years ago, the Panthers have adopted that on their team, and they notice it adds electricity to their side by keeping every member of the team engaged.
Riding all the momentum and a “no mercy” mentality, Snohomish kept rolling through the second half, sending wave after wave of attacks and counterattacks. After clearing a Stanwood corner kick, the ball found its way to junior Danica Avalos, who had nothing but daylight ahead of her. Breaking away from around half field, Avalos stormed all the way down before beating the keeper to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute.
“I think we were ready to go (in the) second half,” said senior goalkeeper Addison Carter, who played 64 shutout minutes before junior Ella Beaver subbed in late. “I think as soon as that kick was gone, everyone was just like, ‘let’s go.’”
Pahre put on the finishing touch with less than nine minutes to go, making it 5-0 on another long rush up the field.
Snohomish has won four straight and remains undefeated in Wesco North 3A/2A. With big goals for the rest of the season, the Panthers wanted to make a statement. After executing the proper adjustments and relying on their strengths, they certainly did.
What kind of statement? Well, as Carter put it: “Show everyone why they should be scared of Snohomish.”
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