EDMONDS — In a game that took over 90 minutes to play, all anybody leaving the Meadowdale-Mountlake Terrace soccer game was talking about was the final 10 seconds of regulation.
Meadowdale bookended the game with a goal in the first few minutes and a score 79 minutes and 50 seconds into the game. That second score, a stoppage time penalty kick by Stuart Smith after a controversial handball call, forced a 2-2 tie with Mountlake Terrace after double overtime in a Wesco 3A contest Tuesday night at Edmonds Stadium.
The tie keeps Meadowdale (5-0-2 league, 7-0-4 overall) unbeaten this season.
“The first goal was just us moving the ball perfectly,” said Meadowdale head coach Brian Monroe-Jones. “But then we stopped moving it the way we’re capable of for a long time there and Terrace, being the competitive team that they are, fought back into it. Terrace played their game for a whole bunch of minutes and put us away for awhile there.”
Mountlake Terrace appeared poised to hand the Mavericks their first loss of the season. But Meadowdale continued to attack and fight for the tie into the final seconds.
The Mavericks got their chance when the referee blew his whistle and called a handball in the goalkeeper’s box. Several Hawks players — and coaches — protested, but the call stood and Smith calmly stepped up and tied the game.
The referee blew his whistle about 10 seconds after the subsequent kickoff to signal the end of regulation.
“I think it was a tough call with 10 seconds left, the handball,” said George Dremousis, the Mountlake Terrace head coach. “I think we earned the win but those things happen. It is what it is.”
Monroe-Jones said he “didn’t see the play and couldn’t tell” what happened in the cluster of players in front of the goal. But when the penalty kick was set up he knew Smith would be the one he would count on to tie the game.
“It’s him. Senior captain, he should be able to take the shot,” Monroe-Jones said. “He should be able to finish that and he did.
“… Any time you’re playing a rival school it’s going to be tight. I expected it to be close. I didn’t expect it to be all the way down to the last seconds though.”
Meadowdale started the scoring in the third minute with a goal by senior Jonathan Flores on a cross by Daniel Kirschner to give the Mavericks the early lead.
That lead held up until the 22nd minute when Mountlake Terrace evened the score on a goal by Alec Somers. Fourteen minutes later, sophomore Gavin Scott, who assisted on Mountlake Terrace’s first goal, found the back of the net right before halftime to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.
“It’s huge. There’s a team that’s given up one (league) goal all season and we came in and doubled that,” Dremousis said. “I think for the guys, it’s just so heartbreaking because I think they earned the win. It happens. It’s a game.
“We have two tremendous forwards,” Dremousis continued. “Alec and Gavin, they’re special players that can take over. That’s nice to have.”
Meadowdale still has allowed just three goals in seven league games this season. The Mavericks have shut out their opponents in five of their seven Wesco 3A contests.
Monroe-Jones said he knows where his team gets its defensive drive from.
“Their coach is a defensive-minded guy,” Monroe-Jones said with a laugh. “I like a good defensive team. Those back four guys are very, very good. That’s been our bread and butter, in a sense, is we’ve got a quality squad in our back four.”
The Meadowdale coach said center defender Griffin Over, Smith and Flores were key components in the Mavericks’ victory Tuesday night.
“Stuart, of course, he really can control a lot of things in the (center),” Monroe-Jones said. “Griffin Over, our central defender, is just a fantastic player. Jonathan Flores worked hard the whole game. The combination of the three of them was the key to our game today.”
Mountlake Terrace (4-3-1, 5-5-2), which finds itself right in the middle of the Wesco 3A standings, still controls its own destiny for the playoffs. If the Hawks win their final four games they clinch a playoff berth.
If not, things could get a little messy.
“Last year we lost to Meadowdale 5-1 both times,” Dremousis said. “… Taking steps like this is big for us. It puts us in the conversation for the playoffs. Four games to go, you kind of control your own destiny. You win and you’re in. We’re right in the middle. There’s so much parity this year. … We’ll take a point from tonight. We’re not happy about it, but we’ll take it.”
At Edmonds Stadium
Goals—Jonathan Flores (M), Alec Somers (MT), Gavin Scott (MT), Stuart Smith (M). Assists—Daniel Kirschner (M), Scott (MT), Nate Cockbain (MT). Goalkeepers—Mountlake Terrace: Genaro Ruis. Meadowdale: Luke Lindgren. Records—Mountlake Terrace 4-3-1 league, 5-5-2 overall. Meadowdale 5-0-2, 7-0-4.
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