BELLINGHAM – It seemed Meadowdale had finally done what no one else could this season: Silence the Storm.
Meadowdale led 2-1 with less than one minute to play, but Squalicum forced overtime and then won a shootout 5-4 for a 3-2 victory Saturday in the Class 3A District One boys soccer championship game at Civic Stadium.
Squalicum (18-0-1) has won 17 straight. Both teams advance to the state tournament: Meadowdale (16-2-1) as the district’s No. 2 seed, Squalicum No. 1. The Mavericks play a first-round game Tuesday at Camas.
“It’s disappointing because the goal was to win the district championship,” said Meadowdale coach Darrell Hamilton, who described Squalicum as by far the best team his Mavs have faced this season. “But games like this are fun because it’s not loser-out.”
“We’re still in state,” added Meadowdale midfielder Josh Swett, who scored the Mavs’ first goal. “Hopefully we’ll just get to play them again at state.”
Meadowdale went ahead 2-1 in the 69th minute when forward Solly Gold fed teammate Lamar Anderson for a point-blank score. Gold fought off a defender in the left side of the penalty box, spun right to the center of the field and dropped a perfect pass to Anderson.
Squalicum was staring into the eyes of its first defeat until the Storm’s Mason Webb ran up the left side and booted a shocking game-tying goal from 15 yards out with less than one minute to play in regulation.
After two scoreless five-minute overtimes, Squalicum scored on all five of its penalty kicks. Storm coach Joe McAuliffe was relieved to escape with the victory.
“Meadowdale is not only tough, but they play smart,” he said. “This is a team that has it all.”
But thanks largely to Webb’s late score, Squalicum has the championship.
Meadowdale evened the score at 1-1 in the game’s 33rd minute on Swett’s rocket from 25 yards out. The shot, sent into the upper right portion of the net, came from beyond the right edge of the penalty box.
Squalicum scored first when Nick Webb, Mason’s brother, collected a lead pass and eluded two defenders before drilling a low blast from 20 yards out into the left corner of the net.
Meadowdale appeared to gain a huge edge when Mavs goalie Eric Marty dove right to smother Squalicum’s first penalty kick. But Marty momentarily lost control of the ball, which rolled less than half a rotation over the goal line.
Earlier, Shorecrest advanced to state for the fourth straight year. The Scots defeated Burlington-Edison 5-4 in a shootout for a 2-1 victory in the winner-to-state, loser-out third-place game. Shorecrest will play a first-round game at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Lakeside.
“We could have played a lot better,” said Shorecrest coach Teddy Mitalis, whose team will play a state tournament game for the 13th time in his 15 seasons at the school.
At Bellingham
Squalicum 3, Meadowdale 2 (5-4 shootout)
Goals-Meadowdale: Swett, Anderson. Squalicum: N. Webb, M. Webb. Goalkeepers-Meadowdale: Marty. Squalicum: Jarvis. Records-Meadowdale 16-2-1 overall. Squalicum 18-0-1.
Shorecrest 2, Burlington-Edison 1 (5-4 shootout)
Goals-Shorecrest: Miller. B-E: LaHecka. Goalkeepers-Shorecrest: Hawkins, Wright. B-E: Tinoco. Records-Shorecrest 11-4-4. B-E 8-9-2.
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