MOUNT VERNON – As a goalie in a shootout, all you can do is take a guess and hope it’s right. And against Meridian on Friday, Lakewood keeper Josh Korfanta kept guessing right, only to have the Trojans’ shots find their way into the net.
But after freshman Eric Hawks found the left side of the net to give the Cougars a one-goal advantage, Korfanta’s guess-work finally paid off. The junior capped an outstanding game by diving right to smother a shot by Meridian’s Raj Singh, giving Lakewood a 1-0 victory (5-4 in the shootout) and the Class 2A District 1 tournament title at Mount Vernon High School.
“We’ve worked on (shootouts) all season,” Korfanta said. “First, I’m hoping my teammates make all their shots. Then I’m hoping I guess right. You never know what’s going to happen, though.”
The win gives Lakewood (14-5) the district’s top seed to next week’s state tournament and completes a surprising postseason run that saw the Cougars defeat Cascade Conference champion Sultan, Whatcom County League champ Meridian and WCL No. 2 Blaine. The Trojans had defeated the Cougars 1-0 earlier this season.
“All week we’ve been going to the trophy case and telling the guys if you want one of those, you’re going to have to earn it,” Lakewood coach Vaughn Vandelac said. “And we definitely earned it.”
Meridian (17-2), which had a 15-game win streak snapped, will play a loser-out game at 3 p.m. today at Mount Vernon against Sultan.
Korfanta continually turned away Meridian’s pressure throughout regulation and overtime of a physical game played in a driving second-half rain storm. The Cougars got a break when Meridian forward Jose Sosa was given a red card with eight minutes to play in regulation, giving the Cougars a man advantage. But the Trojans dropped back into a more defensive set and neither team could decide it before overtime.
Korfanta dove right with a minute left in the first overtime to stop a shot by Brent Ahrens, and Meridian keeper Matt Hagan knocked away a shot by Curtis Hackworth with seconds left in the second OT, sending the game to the shootout.
“We were disappointed not to win before the shootout,” Vandelac said. “You get to a shootout and it’s a flip of the coin. So it’s hard to be confident going into one. I just told my keeper to save one.”
The teams traded goals in the first two rounds and Lakewood sophomore Gerardo Resendiz scored into the right side to put the Cougars up a goal. Meridian’s Matt Karuza then missed, hitting the right post, but Hackworth’s shot was saved by a diving Hagan and Aaron Avery scored to tie it at 3.
Lakewood’s Yaroslov Golovatyuk and Meridian’s Logan Lee each scored, sending the round into sudden death. Hawks, a freshman who has started since the beginning of the season for the Cougars, calmly scored into the left side of the net and Korfanta came through with the game-winning save.
“I wasn’t very nervous,” Hawks said. “I just looked the other way, because the goalie follows your eyes, and tried to get a solid shot off.”
Sultan 4, Archbishop Murphy 3, OT: In a game highlighted by a pair of hat tricks, senior Caleb Barnhill walked away the hero for the Turks in a loser-out game of the Class 2A District 1 tournament at Mount Vernon High School.
Barnhill’s goal with 3:38 left in overtime capped a stunning comeback by Sultan, which trailed 3-1 with under six minutes to play. Now Sultan (15-3), the Cascade Conference regular-season champion, will play Meridian at 3 p.m. today at Mount Vernon for the district’s final berth to the state playoffs, set to start next week. Murphy’s season ends at 13-6.
Murphy senior Chris Danford and Sultan senior Brayton Knapp each scored three goals. They were the 99th, 100th and 101st of Knapp’s high school career.
Knapp scored a ridiculous goal, shooting on the kickoff into the wind, shocking Murphy. With 3:40 left, Knapp again found the back of the net on a cross to tie the score at 3.
Murphy midfielder Tyler Huggins was given a red card in the final minute of regulation for language abuse, leaving the Wildcats short a man in overtime.
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