LYNNWOOD – The Kamiak Knights are one step closer to a coveted 4A state soccer berth.
Kelly Haugen scored two goals and the Knights took advantage of two defensive miscues by Edmonds-Woodway to defeat the Warriors 3-0 in a Wesco South match Tuesday night at the Lynnwood Turf.
The victory allowed the Knights (10-2-1 in league and overall, 31 points) to move into sole possession of second place in the division and puts them ahead of the Warriors (9-4-1, 28) for the Class 4A No. 1 seed.
The top 4A schools from both the Wesco North and South earn an automatic 4A state berth. Shorecrest, a 3A school, leads the South.
“It’s a good win, keeps us on top of the standings and getting that state berth,” Kamiak head coach Garfield Scott said.
Kamiak jumped on the board early when Haugen scored 26 minutes into the game off a pass from Dylan Gaddy.
Missed opportunities by both teams ended the first half and the Knights entered the half leading by the same score, 1-0, that they had defeated the Warriors by on March 27.
Unlike their last meeting this game wasn’t going into overtime.
The teams battled for possession through most of the second half before Haugen’s second goal in the 78th minute made it 2-0.
After the Knights set play came up an inch short – Kyle Benson’s attempt hit the top bar – Haugen rebounded the miss and shot it into the goal.
“They work harder than anybody else we play, other than maybe Shorecrest, and they’re pretty smart with the ball,” Warriors head coach Tony Gilman said.
Kamiak added an insurance goal in the 80th minute when Gaddy beat Edmonds-Woodway goalkeeper Nick Kratzke one-on-one for a goal.
Kratzke, who had won an earlier battle with Benson, wasn’t able to get in the way of Gaddy’s ball.
“They got two goals that we think should’ve been marked up and we didn’t mark up very well. That’s a compliment to them. They took advantage of a miscue on our part,” Gilman said.
Kamiak out-shot the Warriors and was able to hold one of the South’s leading goal scorers, Warriors sophomore forward Max Doolittle, fairly quiet.
Doolittle came into the game with 12 goals and eight assists but wasn’t able to register a shot on goal.
“Defensively we’re pretty strong. When we play our possession I think we open the game up a bit,” Scott said.
Scott credited the play of his defense and defenseman Phil Treadgold.
“Phil’s been our rock back there all season,” Scott said.
The Knights moved a step closer to reaching one of their goals they set at the beginning of the season – a second consecutive state berth.
Kamiak earned the automatic 4A state berth last season and is hoping a strong finish this season will yield the same result.
“We still have some matches to play and we want to finish strong … all credit to the lads. They’ve been working hard. They set their goals at the beginning of the season and they’re trying to follow up on that, so all credit to them,” Scott said.
The Warriors played most of the second half without forward Kooroush Mansourzadeh, who left the game early in the second period after bruising his knee.
At Lynnwood Turf
Goals-Kamiak: Haugen 2, Gaddy. Assists-Kamiak: Gaddy. Goalkeepers-Edmonds-Woodway: Nick Kratzke. Kamiak: Not reported. Records-Kamiak 10-2-1 in league and overall. Edmonds-Woodway 9-4-1.
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