MOUNT VERNON — The Meadowdale Mavericks are heading to state as 3A District 1 champions.
It wasn’t easy, it certainly wasn’t dry, and wind gusts dominated a good part of the game, but the Mavericks used the elements to their advantage when they could to pull out their biggest win yet of the season.
Krista Bartkowski and Maddi Null each scored in the 18th minute and Meadowdale survived extreme wind and rain to win the District 1 girls soccer championship 3-0 over Glacier Peak Thursday night at Mount Vernon High School.
“It feels great,” said Meadowdale sophomore forward Alisa Sagdahl, who scored Meadowdale’s third and final goal in the 64th minute. “(The district championship) opens up a whole new set of doors for us. I think we’re going to do great at state, we just have to keep it going.”
Thanks to a coin toss, Meadowdale started the first half with the wind at its back, and took command with two lightning-quick goals.
The Mavericks scored those first two goals less than a minute apart.
Bartkowski got Meadowdale on the board in the 18th minute, lofting a free kick from nearly 40 yards out that bounced and sailed over Glacier Peak keeper Nicole Giovine’s head.
Null followed that up just moments later by blasting a shot from about 35 yards out that squirted past the keeper, also in the 18th minute.
“Our girls started to realize that anything could happen in this weather,” Meadowdale head coach Chris Baldwin said of the two long bombs. “I told the girls (balls are going to be hard to stop), if they had a shot to take it.”
Meadowdale’s district run is a stark contrast to last year, when the Mavericks started out hot in the regular season, won the Wesco South title, but then failed to qualify for state at districts.
Meadowdale had a slower start the beginning of this season, and its 13-5-1 record might not be as impressive this year, but Baldwin likes what he is seeing.
“It’s the complete opposite (of last year),” Baldwin said. “(We’ve) started to peak later in the season.”
Peaking has involved going 7-1 over its past eight games and stunning previously undefeated, defending 3A state champion Everett 2-1 in double overtime in the district semifinals.
On Thursday, the wind died down in the second half, minimizing the Glacier Peak advantage, and Glacier Peak standout Brooke Gilbert picked up a yellow card in the 42nd minute for knocking over Bartkowski.
Meadowdale and Glacier Peak had played twice before in the regular season — with Glacier Peak winning both encounters, a fact that had concerned Grizzlies head coach Melinda Torre.
Torre, whose Grizzlies fell to 14-4-1, said she was concerned going into the contest because beating a good team three times in a row is one of the hardest things to do.
“They outplayed us,” Torre said.
Regardless of the loss, it’s been a successful season for Glacier Peak, which reached the district title game in just its second year of existence as a high school.
“It’s outstanding,” Torre said of the opportunity to play for a district title. “We got some key players when (Snohomish) broke up (including U-17 national player Brooke Gilbert). … The girls enjoy each other and each other’s company.”
Glacier Peak’s season isn’t over. The Grizzlies play Everett this Saturday at Mount Vernon High School for the district’s second and final seed to state.
Meadowdale, which started sophomore Julia Grossenbacher in goal, secured the District 1 No. 1 seed to state along with the 3A District 1 title, and will play the District 3-4 No. 6 seed in the opening round of state.
Meadowdale defeated two of the top 3A teams in the state back-to-back in Everett and Glacier Peak.
“I really do see us peaking now,” Baldwin said, crediting his team. “It’s a rare situation (in high school soccer) to have (so much) depth.”
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