SAMMAMISH — “1-2-3, no mercy!” the Snohomish girls soccer chanted as it broke its halftime huddle during Friday’s state round of 16 game against the visiting No. 12 University Titans at Eastside Catholic High School.
The No. 5 Panthers (16-3-1) were up 1-0 thanks to an early strike from senior star Nevaeh Howerton and were coming off nine straight halves of shutout soccer, having won the District 1 tournament without allowing a goal.
The notion that they would continue that trend in the second half clearly inspired the team, but it would be tested immediately. Just a minute after halftime, a University corner kick resulted in a goal from Titans senior Lilly Heaton, sending the District 6 runners-up from Spokane into a frenzy.
The Panthers refused to give in, though, earning set pieces through physical play on a soggy night. After a 47th-minute free kick, freshman forward Jenna Pahre found the ball on a follow and slammed it in to put Snohomish ahead, securing what would turn out to be a 2-1 win. The victory placed Snohomish in Saturday’s quarterfinal against No. 4 Eastside Catholic.
“I just happened to be there to put it in,” Pahre said after the game. “I’m still kind of processing it all, it’s very exciting.”
While the game wasn’t perfect for the Panthers, head coach Brielle Dodge and her staff have been busy instilling the expectation that the district champs push for success on the biggest stage.
“We were talking through it, we were visualizing it, everything about State and what that means to be here. We want to make sure it’s being talked about,” Dodge said. “We’re not getting here and being surprised that we got here.”
The Panthers certainly looked the part in the early going, setting up a high press in University territory to foreshadow what would be a physical game chock-full of fouls by either team. After a foul in the fourth minute, Howerton suddenly found herself on the receiving end of a deep ball into University territory. Howerton, who was coming off a goal in the district championship game, found herself all alone streaking down the middle of the field. She wasted no movement when she got past the 18, slamming a shot past the keeper to open the scoring.
“It’s huge, you set the tone for the game,” Dodge said of scoring first. “We knew it was going to be a battle, it’s State … you always have jitters coming into it, but we tell the girls, ‘You can either be nervous or you can be excited.’”
Nervous wasn’t a word that would come to your mind while watching the Snohomish sideline throughout the match, as players joked around and laughed while encouraging the players on the field. For Dodge, whose program hasn’t seen State action since they went out in the first round in 2022, having fun is at the center of the team value system. The jovial nature of the bench paid dividends in evening out the atmosphere, considering the intensity of play on the pitch.
Strong individual defense from the likes of senior defending midfielder Brynna Yalowicki, sophomore midfielder Kennedy Perasso and junior attacking midfielder Lizzie Allyn helped keep the Snohomish shutout alive through halftime. Team defense against the numerous set-piece chances generated by University made life easier on senior keeper Addison Carter, who wasn’t tested until a dangerous cross found the box in the 28th.
When the equalizing goal was scored, Allyn and company were immediately confident they’d have chances to get the lead back.
“We trust in our team a lot,” Allyn said. “(When) we get back down to 1-1, we don’t really change our game plan any, we know that we can put one back if we just kind of let our defense do their thing and clear the ball out.”
As the team moved past the conceded goal and began the long process of defending their lead for the final 25 minutes of action, Dodge and her staff started picking up on one thing that’d like to clean up before their team advanced — fouling.
While the Panthers weren’t issued any disciplinary cards, Snohomish allowed plenty of free kicks by fouling as the University spread the ball around. Dodge is looking for arguably the best defense in the area, which has 15 shutouts through 20 games, to play teams straight up going forward.
“I would like us to close down on the ball and delay them a little bit more and work together as team defense instead of what I call ‘the easy way out’ and hacking with a foul,” Dodge said.
Reducing fouls should provide the Panthers with more transition opportunities going forward, as junior forward Danica Avalos found herself free down the right sideline on mulitple occasions after defensive takeaways.
Considering how intense Friday’s action was, conditioning for Saturday’s quick turnaround against the host Crusaders appeared to be a valid concern. Allyn didn’t see it that way postgame.
“This is nothing new, we usually have (games) every other day, so what’s one more day going to do to us?”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
