EVERETT – For the first 79 minutes Tuesday night, the Jackson boys soccer team’s hopes of postseason play were all but dead.
But in an 80-minute match, that last minute can breath life back into a team.
The Timberwolves’ playoff hopes were resuscitated when sophomore defender Derek Woolsey flicked a 79th-minute bouncing ball in the penalty box and over the Shorewood goalkeeper to even the Wesco South game 1-1. Jackson survived two scoreless overtimes to come away with a draw and one very important point.
The tie makes for important season finales for both squads on Thursday.
For Jackson (5-9-1, 16 points), the draw kept its hopes alive for a 4A District 1 playoff spot.
The Timberwolves must win or tie Thursday at Edmonds-Woodway and have Mariner (6-9-0, 18) lose or Shorewood lose or tie to secure a playoff berth.
“We lost 2-1 in overtime (to Edmonds-Woodway) earlier this season, but we’ve grown up a lot since then and I think we have a shot,” Jackson coach Brett Norton said.
For Shorewood (5-8-2, 17), Tuesday’s tie and Mariner’s victory over Mountlake Terrace prevented it from clinching a berth.
“I’m disappointed in the tie,” lamented Shorewood head coach Mark Wisdom.
The T-birds must win or tie, or have Jackson lose to secure a 4A District 1 playoff spot.
Jackson’s equalizer came off a Devin Mendiola free kick from about 45 yards up field, on the left flank, that he swung into the center of the box, hoping for a carom and shot.
When asked about the strategy on that particular type of set play, Norton said that’s what they do.
“In that situation, we’ll normally push people up, play a ball centrally and hope for a break,” he said.
“Tonight we got one and we were fortunate to escape with a point.”
And they were.
From the game’s first whistle, Shorewood aggressively attacked the Jackson goal, putting six shots off the goal frame and drawing four early corner kicks.
In the 10th minute, Shorewood’s Ciaran Regan headed a corner kick past Jackson keeper Kevin Springer, only to be denied by well-positioned backside defender Austin Wyatt.
Springer then made the first of many first-half saves in the 20th minute, denying Shorewood striker Szabi Vas’ left-footed attempt from 20 yards.
At the 30th minute Kevin Luangrath had a 1-on-1 with the Shorewood keeper that was kick-saved away, and the Timberwolves went into halftime in a scoreless tie.
Shorewood came out hot again in the second half and capitalized on a 48th-minute counter-attack goal to finally beat Springer and take a 1-0 lead.
The Thunderbird’s goal came when Tony Aspinall recovered a Jackson turnover and played a 35-yard over-the-top through ball to Vas, who took a touch by Springer and side-volleyed the ball into the back of the net.
Shorewood threatened again in the 63rd minute, when Jackson committed the rare defender-to-goalkeeper pass-back violation that gave the T-birds an indirect free-kick from about 12 yards.
Springer made the save to keep Jackson in the game.
“Kevin’s been solid in the net the second half of the season,” said Norton. “His athleticism alone can help him overcome some of his mistakes.”
For the rest of the game, Shorewood attacked, but Springer made every save.
At Everett Memorial Stadium
Goals-Shorewood: Vas. Jackson: Woolsey. Assists-Shorewood: Aspinall. Jackson: Mendiola. Goalkeepers-Shorewood: not provided. Jackson: Springer. Records-Shorewood 5-8-2 overall. Jackson 5-9-1.
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