LAKEWOOD – The Class 2A state girls soccer champion will come from the Cascade Conference.
Archbishop Murphy and Cedarcrest were both victorious in semifinal matches Friday. The Wildcats dispatched last year’s state champion Eatonville 3-2 and the Red Wolves captured a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Cheney.
When Archbishop Murphy (19-3) and Cedarcrest (22-0) play at 4 p.m. today at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood, it’ll be the third time this season the teams have met. The Red Wolves beat the the Wildcats 2-1 and 5-0 during conference play.
“That’s what we have been looking forward to the whole time, since our last game,” junior Archbishop Murphy midfielder Emma Nelson said. “We knew if we played them again it would be in the finals. They might win two during the season, but if we want to win one, we definitely want it to be this one.”
Just because his team has beaten Murphy twice, and blew out the Wildcats in their most recent encounter, doesn’t mean the title game will be a cake walk, Cedarcrest coach Greg Anderson said.
“The first game was very close, we kinda blew them out a little bit in the second,” Anderson said. “Still they come after you all the time, it should be a good one, it will be a great game.”
Not only has Cedarcrest beaten the Wildcats twice this season, the Red Wolves have never lost to Archbishop Murphy. And Cedarcrest knows that doesn’t sit well with their rivals.
“I know they are going to bring it as hard as they can,” said Cedarcrest senior forward Amanda Johnson, who’s scored three of the seven goals against the Wildcats this season.
“We have to get our team pumped up as much as they are. It will be a good game.”
The Wildcats will need a better start offensively against the Red Wolves than the one they had Friday against Eatonville. Archbishop Murphy quickly fell behind 2-0 and missed several first-half scoring opportunities before finally getting the ball in the net. They made just two of 18 shots in the first half.
Meanwhile, Eatonville forward Jenna Samora made quick work of the Wildcats’ defense, scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes to bring her season total to 30 and giving the Cruisers a 2-0 advantage.
“(Samora) is their strongest player by far and we had to mark her with two players for the whole rest of the game,” Wildcats coach Pat Jack said. “I thought we were about the same, even though it was 2-0. We had as many chances as they did but ours just weren’t sinking.”
Midway through the first half, Archbishop Murphy’s Melissa VonderHofen dribbled into the penalty box, but had the ball knocked away. Fortunately, for the Wildcats, Nelson gathered the ball and put it in the lower right corner of the goal in the 25th minute to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Archbishop Murphy freshman Sammi Pettinger scored 13 seconds before halftime to tie the score 2-2. Pettinger found herself wide open in front of the goal after the Eatonville defense failed to clear the ball.
“They have been good to me,” Pettinger said of the worn-out blue Diadora cleats she plays in. “The toes ripping out of the front of them, but I am not getting new shoes until (after the tile game).”
Pettinger put the Wildcats in front with a goal in the 41st minute off a Lindsey Bos pass. Pettinger lofted the ball over the Eatonville keeper from 14 yards away for what turned out to be the game-winner.
The Wildcats balanced scoring is one of its strengths, Jack said: “It is very, very even up front which is nice. It makes it much more difficult for the other team to control when you have that many people who can shoot.”
At Harry Lang Stadium
Goals-Eatonville: Samora 2. Archbishop Murphy: Nelson, Pettinger 2. Assists-Eatonville: Wilson. Archbishop Murphy: Bos. Goalkeepers-Eatonville: Wilson. Archbishop Murphy: Hughes. Records-Eatonville 13-4-1 overall. Archbishop Murphy 19-3-0.
Cedarcrest 3, Cheney 1: At Lakewood, Cedarcrest added two second-half goals to break a 1-1 tie and advance to the 2A state finals.
Erin Kearney scored Cedarcrest’s first goal off an Amanda Johnson pass in the 8th minute to give Cedarcrest the early lead.
The Red Wolves found themselves tied at the half for just the second time this season when Cheney’s Dani Carlman scored in the 25th minute to level the score at 1-1.
Johnson scored her 40th goal of the season in the 59th minute to give Cedarcrest the lead for good. Johnson, verbally committed to Seattle Pacific University, dribbled 25 yards and beat two Cheney defenders before blasting a 28-yard shot into the lower left corner for the score.
“I felt a lot of pressure,” Johnson said. “We knew if we kept shooting it would go in. So, I figured why not just run at players, which is probably what I am best at.”
Rachael Kevin found herself in the right place at the right time to score the Red Wolves’ third goal, in the 67th minute. Sarah Dowd rifled a shot at goal off a Johnson corner kick. Kevin redirected the ball into the net to put the game out of reach.
Senior captain Amanda Biggs, Ashton Griffen, Brooke Chapman, Haley Clapp and goalkeeper Holli Butterfield led the Cedarcrest defensive effort, limiting Cheney to one shot on goal in the second half.
“They are amazing quite honestly,” Johnson said. “And Biggs (verbally committed to Central Washington University), she is always just amazing. She is able to keep our defense together.”
At Harry Lang Stadium
Goals-Cedarcrest: Kearney, Johnson, Kevin. Cheney: McClure. Assists-Cedarcrest: Johnson, Dowd. Cheney: none. Goalkeepers-Cedarcrest: H. Butterfield. Cheney: Knox. Records-Cedarcrest 22-0-0 overall. Cheney 17-4-1.
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