SHORELINE — The formula for the Shorewood High School boys soccer team in the District 1 championship game was simple: win set pieces, put the ball into the mixer and try to take advantage of its height advantage.
It took 72 minutes, but eventually the formula bore fruit, and as a result the Stormrays can call themselves champions.
Shorewood scored twice off set pieces in the final eight minutes of the game, and that was enough to give the Stormrays a 2-0 victory over the previously undefeated Mount Vernon Bulldogs in the district title game Saturday afternoon at Shoreline Stadium.
Jackson Smith and Dzanan Fikic scored the goals for fourth-seeded Shorewood (16-2-1), which finally broke down the Mount Vernon defense after knocking on the door throughout the second half. Meanwhile, the Stormrays prevented the Bulldogs from attempting a shot on goal until the 70th minute.
”It’s an amazing feeling, and it wouldn’t be possible without all the hard work and dedication,” Fikic said about winning the title. “Over the course of this year we stood for three words: family, discipline and respect. It’s just an amazing feeling and it couldn’t get better than this.”
With the victory, Shorewood will be hoping to get a top-four seed to the state tournament and a chance of hosting round-of-16 and quarterfinal games. Tournament seeding will be determined Sunday.
”It’s emotional, I’m very proud of these guys,” Shorewood coach Shaun Warner said.
“We’ll take one game at a time,” Warner added about his thoughts about state. “Giannis (Antetokounmpo) on the Milwaukee Bucks said the difference when they lost their series was that the Miami Heat were playing to beat us, we were playing to try to win a championship. So our mindset is going to be that whoever we get to play, it’s just an opportunity to play one more game if we win.”
Shorewood players celebrate their victory over Mount Vernon in the Class 3A District 1 championship match Saturday at Shoreline Stadium in Shoreline. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mount Vernon, the No. 3 seed, dropped to 14-1-3. Both teams already qualified for state.
After struggling to create any offense in the first half, Shorewood improved significantly in the second — both Fikic and Warner credited the wind, which was blowing briskly with the Stormrays in the second half after being against them in the first. Shorewood regularly earned corner kicks and free kicks in Mount Vernon’s half, giving them the chance to send their taller players into the penalty box to try and get their heads on crosses.
After many unsuccessful attempts, the Stormrays finally hit pay dirt in the 72nd minute. Isaak Abraham’s free kick from 40 yards out on the right dropped in behind the Mount Vernon defense, and Smith was able to get the most delicate of touches with his instep to usher the ball into the left corner, breaking the scoreless deadlock.
Then in extra time Shorewood clinched it. Again it was Abraham with the delivery, this time from 25 yards out on the left. Abraham’s cross headed to the near post where Fikic, engaged with two Bulldogs defenders, managed to get a toe on the ball, and it just squirted over the goal line for a 2-0 lead. Though both goals came from set pieces, neither was a product of Shorewood’s height advantage.
Shorewood’s Anthony Henry leaps to redirect a long ball against Mount Vernon during the 3A District 1 championship match Saturday at Shoreline Stadium in Shoreline. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
“I thought our height would play a bigger advantage, credit to Mount Vernon, I thought they marked us very well on set pieces,” Warner said. “We had a lot of set pieces and it took a while to break the seal on them. I thought where we had an advantage was our striker, Anthony Henry, was able to post them up quite a bit, which frustrated them a little a bit, and we were able to create a lot of set pieces because of it. I thought that played the biggest role, our ability to get fouled to get those set pieces.”
Little of note happened during a first half in which neither team was able to create any offense. The closest either team came toward their opponent’s goal was when Henry muscled past a defender and fired a shot that was deflected wide for a corner in the 34th minute.
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