MT. VERNON — Championship games are supposed to be tight affairs that feature crossed fingers, tense moments and drama. However, none of these hallmarks were present in the 2A District 1 boys soccer championship Saturday at Bulldog Stadium in Mount Vernon.
Northwest Conference top seed Sehome handily dismissed Archbishop Murphy 4-0 in a game that technically only determined which team got a trophy and the top seed into the 2A state tournament which begins Tuesday. In reality the game may have revealed which team has a chance to win the tournament. If the Wildcats’ performance was any indication, they won’t be that team.
“I felt like they didn’t care as much as us,” Sehome coach John Sylvester said.
The Mariners (17-2) implemented some new offensive strategies and took nothing for granted prior to facing Murphy (13-5).
“We were nervous (before the game) but we capitalized early and right when we score a goal we just progressively get better,” Sehome’s Dane Dewees said.
Dewees got the only score the Mariners would need when Dylan Harrington, who was free in the corner, booted the perfect cross to the far post where Dewees was waiting to head the ball home for a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
Nine minutes later, Dewees got the best of Murphy keeper Doug Ehlebracht with a fake and then shot to go up 2-0. Jake Haggen played a ball from about 40 yards out to Brooks Kochman, who assisted Dewees.
“He (Ehlebracht) committed to my fake and I just touched it in,” the senior midfielder said. “It was a crafty goal, but without Brooks’ touch it wouldn’t have happened.”
Dewees assisted on the third goal of the game in the 33rd minute when he found Alex Knops for a point blank score to make it 3-0.
The Mariners’ defense held Murphy in check throughout the first half. The Wildcats, who managed just three shots before half, struggled to really threaten either playing over the top or on the sidelines.
“You have to bring a good amount of energy and intensity to each game and unfortunately today wasn’t our day on that,” Murphy coach Eddie Fernandez said.
While Sehome didn’t have a ton of chances, it did jump on many opportunities that presented themselves.
Dewees didn’t start the second half but re-entered around the 58th minute. Less than 2 minutes later he put his imprint on the scoreboard again with a cross-field free kick to Jim MaQuarrie, who finished the shot in the upper corner of the far post as the Murphy defense stood motionless, stunned, and now down 4-0.
“It was a district game and I wanted to treat it like a state final,” said Dewees, who had a foot in all four goals, “I gave it my all and I gave it for the team.”
Reserve goalie Joshua Pepe recorded the clean sheet for the Mariners. He subbed admirably for their normal starter, who was out with an illness. In the 69th minute Murphy had its only serious scoring chance, when Pepe almost bobbled a save in the goalie box, but the senior smothered the ball before the Wildcats could converge.
Murphy sophomore goalie Jordan Trinka relieved Ehlegracht for the final 10 minutes of the game and got plenty of work as the Mariners kept shooting until the final whistle. Unofficially Sehome outshot the Wildcats 17-5.
Fernandez was disappointed but doesn’t think Saturday will have an affect on Murphy’s ultimate goal, which has been the same since before the season.
“Our No. 1 goal to start the season was to win the state championship,” he said. “We’ve put ourselves in a position to do that.
“Today wasn’t our day. You don’t want to dwell on it and keep your heads down. Yeah we’re disappointed but we’re excited for the opportunity to play a home game at state on Tuesday.”
The Wildcats will host the third-seeded team from District 4 at 6 p.m. at Everett Memorial Stadium at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Sehome hosts District 4 No. 4. Two wins by each team would mean a rematch in the semifinals.
Bellingham 3, Cedarcrest 1
Cedarcrest had an early lead but failed to extend its season. In the 20th minute, Nik Torchia got an easy score off a deflection from the Red Raiders, giving the Red Wolves a 1-0 advantage. Nick Rader found the equalizer for Bellingham shortly after halftime. Rader dribbled to the left corner of the 18-yard box and rolled it past goalie Colin McHargue. A two-goal flurry in less than a minute proved to be the undoing of Cedarcrest. The first came when on a free kick Jack Morgan headed the ball what looked to be out of bounds until Matt Sanchez kept the ball alive and netted the go ahead score. Still shell-shocked from the surprise goal, the Red Wolves gave up the next one in the 50th minute when Dylan Langei outmaneuvered McHargue thanks to a pass from for Tristan Bosmanan for an easy score and a 3-1 advantage. Goalie Auden Shilder had a shutout in the second half for the Red Raiders.
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