SILVERDALE — Ashley Mjor made sure Klahowya’s girls soccer team gets to play some more.
The sophomore forward scored the game-winning goal three minutes into overtime to lift Klahowya past Lakewood 1-0 Tuesday in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament.
Lakewood, which defeated defending 2A champion Archbishop Murphy twice during the regular season, finished at 17-2-1.
The Cougars beat Klahowya 2-1 in the first round of state last year and were hoping to put the Eagles away in extra time after producing several scoring chances in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
“We thought we were going to take it,” Cougars coach Jeremiah Wohlgemuth said. “We figured momentum was with us.”
Klahowya goalkeeper Cassondra Dick made her biggest save of the match in the 26th minute. After giving up a rebound on a long shot by Lakewood’s Mariah Smith, Dick blocked Arianna Barrio’s putback attempt with her face to keep the contest scoreless.
Dick also made a pair of saves on Lakewood’s Abby Burke in the 71st and 72nd minutes.
Klahowya had the final chance in regulation. But Lakewood goalkeeper Miranda Head got both hands behind Mjor’s high direct kick from 25 yards out.
In overtime, Mjor wouldn¹t be denied.
Klahowya senior Ruthie Hawley dribbled into the right edge of Lakewood’s goal box, but decided not to pull the trigger.
“There¹s no way I can make this shot,” Hawley thought.
Instead, she quickly fed Mjor, whose one-timer sailed high over Head and into the back of the net.
“I know Ashley has the foot,” Hawley said. “Of all the girls who can place it under pressure, it’s Ashley. I was so glad to have her by my side there.”
The golden goal didn’t leave the Cougars with any golden feelings afterwards. Wohlgemuth thought his team’s defense played great but offensively they were a bit stagnant despite outshooting Klahowya 15-12.
“I thought Klahowya outplayed us in the first 60 minutes and then we turned it on in the last 20,” Wohlgemuth said. “They just got loose on the wing in the first couple of minutes of overtime and the girl got off a shot that was really tough to defend.”
For Lakewood, it was a tough way to end the season. An undefeated regular season in the Cascade Conference will be a nice memory but the coach and the team certainly wanted more.
“Our goal going into it was to win a district championship and state tournament and we certainly thought, with this team, that we had a good shot at doing that,” Wohlgemuth said. “It’s real disappointing … but after all the pain of this loss subsides, we’ll be able to look over this season and be really proud of what we accomplished.”
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