BELLINGHAM – More concerned with field spacing than number-crunching, the sport of soccer rarely concerns itself with statistics.
But the Meadowdale boys’ soccer team put up some numbers Thursday evening that were too gaudy to ignore.
Through the first 20 minutes of a 3A Northwest District semifinal game, the Mavericks had dominated Burlington-Edison in shots on goal (9-0), scoring chances (15-2) and just about every other category that has to do with digits. Included among them was the only stat that soccer fans truly covet, with Meadowdale cruising to a 5-0 halftime lead.
Put in soccer terms, Meadowdale was the point-blank penalty kick; Burlington-Edison, the kid who forgot to cover his groin.
“It was like a feeding frenzy,” Burlington-Edison coach Jay Powers said. “They smelled blood. My guys never let up, but (the Mavericks) were hungry, and they went in for the kill.”
Meadowdale sat many of its starters in the second half, breezing to a 7-0 victory to set up a much-anticipated matchup with Squalicum (17-0-1) in Saturday’s district final. Both teams will go to state, while Burlington-Edison will face Shorecrest in a winner-to-state/loser-out contest Saturday morning.
Whether it’s the district championship or a state tournament game, Meadowdale (16-1-1) probably won’t see another match like Thursday’s. The Mavericks completely dominated from the outset, scoring two minutes, 15 seconds into the game and pulling ahead 3-0 in the 19th minute.
Junior midfielder Aaron Roberts scored from an impossible angle to open the scoring, firing a 25-yard shot over the head of the Burlington-Edison goalkeeper even though Roberts was just a few feet from the end line.
Roberts set up the next goal from close to the same spot, centering a pass that teammate Lamar Anderson directed into the net for a 2-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game.
Roberts later assisted a goal by Brandon Rodriguez, and junior Solly Gold added a pair of goals for the comfortable 5-0 halftime lead.
“We had a game against Mariner where we scored three goals in six minutes, so we’re capable of doing that,” Meadowdale coach Darrell Hamilton said. “We had four different players score five goals in the first half; that’s a lot of strength up front.”
Meadowdale goalkeeper Eric Marty didn’t see a single shot on goal until 21 1/2 minutes into the second half, eventually registering his sixth shutout in a row. He had just one save and only touched the ball 10 times all evening.
The Mavericks, using their bench players for most of the final 20 minutes, added to their lead with second-half goals from Anthony DiCaprio and Jordan Allison. Meadowdale finished the game with 15 shots on goal.
It marked the 14th win in 15 games for Meadowdale, which also beat Burlington-Edison 6-1 in the season opener. The underdog Tigers (8-8-2) had entered the district tournament as a No. 6 seed but knocked off third-seeded Sedro-Woolley to advance to the semifinals.
No. 1 seed Squalicum should be a much bigger challenge, as the Storm has won 16 games in a row – including Thursday’s 2-0 win over Shorecrest. The two teams play at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bellingham’s Civic Stadium in a rematch of a district semifinal from last season that Meadowdale won 2-1.
“I think we can beat them,” Meadowdale’s Gold said. “But it’s going to be tough.”
At Bellingham
Goals – Meadowdale: Gold 2, Roberts, Anderson, Rodriquez, DiCaprio, Allison. Goalkeepers – Burlington-Edison: Tinoco. Meadowdale: Marty. Records – Burlington-Edison 8-8-2; Meadowdale 16-1-1.
Sqaulicum 2, Shorecrest 0: Squalicum scored twice in a six-minute span during the second half to advance to the 3A Northwest District title game.
Shorecrest’s Eric Miller had a chance to break a scoreless tie two minutes into the second half, but hit the left goalpost. The Highlanders will face Burlington-Edison on Saturday at 1 p.m. for a shot to go to state.
At Bellingham
Goals – Squalicum: N.Webb, Cutrer. Goalkeepers – Squalicum: Jarvis; Shorecrest: Hawkins.
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