SNOHOMISH — There was a good ol’ fashion barn burner in Snohomish Friday night.
The Woodinville Falcons and Snohomish Panthers girls soccer teams played 60 minutes of scoreless ball before the first and final goal was scored.
Unfortunately for the Panthers that goal came off the foot of a Falcon.
The Falcons defeated Snohomish 1-0 Friday night in a 4A state quarterfinal game played at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Snohomish, ending the Panthers season.
Heather Thomas’s goal with 17 minutes, 40 seconds remaining was all the scoring Woodinville needed as the reigning 4A state champion Falcons (16-4 overall) moved into the semifinals and a match up against Kentwood or Todd Beamer at 8 p.m. Friday at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood.
“That was a barn burner,” Woodinville head coach Sully Hester said, “It looked early on like it was going to take just one.”
Thomas’s goal came on an Erin McDevitt cross that Thomas played perfectly, slapping the ball into the net from 9 yards out.
After the teams battled to a draw in the first half and much of the second half it looked as though the game was headed into a possible shootout, so much so that Hester began to revamp his shootout list at halftime.
The Falcons put Snohomish goalkeeper Madison Goverde to work in the first half and the senior keeper responded with eight saves. Goverde was everywhere and doing everything she could in preventing a goal.
“She was great,” Snohomish head coach Dan Pingrey said.
“We were happy that the shots we missed were wide and that we didn’t put them in her hands because that punt of hers is an offensive weapon,” Hester said of Goverde’s 40-yard goal kick.
After the first-half scoreless draw, Snohomish came out of the break with a little more fire in their legs.
Ashley Tombelaine, who scored both of Snohomish’s goals in their opening-round win over Gig Harbor, had two shots on goal in the first 10 minutes of the half and tried to assist on a third. All three were saved by Falcons’ keeper Leslie Greer.
The Panthers continued to battle getting out in front of the Falcon defenders but were unable to convert their shots into goals.
“Up until they got that goal we were filling out with all kinds of bodies. We were doing the job, we just weren’t getting the finished product. It’s disappointing. We played well enough to win the game,” Pingrey said.
For the second straight season the Panthers dropped a 1-0 4A state quarterfinal game. Last year they lost to Tahoma.
“It’s been a great season,” Pingrey said after the loss, “The last two years we’ve had to fight our way through the playoffs. It’s disappointing. We played well enough to win this game.”
“They’re probably one of the best teams we’ve played all here. It was not only physical but just their depth. We didn’t see their quality fall off,” Hester said of the Panthers.
At Veterans Memorial Stadium
Goals—Woodinville: Thomas. Assists—Woodinville: McDevitt. Goalkeepers—Woodinville: Greer. Snohomish: Goverde. Records—Woodinville 16-4 overall. Snohomish 17-2-1.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
