The Jackson girls soccer team heads into the state tournament with some momentum.
The Timberwolves followed up its 1-0 win over Lake Stevens with another hard-fought 1-0 victory over Monroe in the 4A District 1 championship game Nov. 6 at Shoreline Stadium.
Senior captain Brianna Ellis scored the game’s lone goal in the 21st minute.
“We’re really excited,” Ellis said of the state tournament.
Jackson (17-0-1) was scheduled to face Todd Beamer in a first-round game Tuesday night, the results of which were not available for this edition of The Enterprise.
“Everybody just wants to go out and win it,” Ellis said.
Jackson coach Mike Bartley is optimistic about the Wolfpack’s prospects at state.
“We’ve been well-tested through districts,” he said. “I think it’s just prepared us well. I feel pretty good that we’ll hold up.”
Defense is what has enabled the Timberwolves to go undefeated so far. Jackson has allowed five goals in 18 games and has recorded 13 shutouts.
“I think our defense will hold up,” Bartley said. “It’s going to be whether we score goals.”
The victories over Lake Stevens and Monroe should have boosted Jackson’s confidence.
“I don’t think we’re overconfident,” Bartley added. “There are eight seniors out there. … They remember how hard it was (to advance to the final four). They’re experienced.”
Bartley admitted he would have liked to see a little more offense from his team.
“I wish we had a little more offensive momentum,” he said. “It would have been nice to win by two or three and have a chance to relax. The thing I do like about those one goal games is it keeps them sharp. They’re used to that kind of pressure. I don’t think it will phase them. We know how hard this is. State is extremely tough.”
Jackson finished fourth at state last year and also had final four appearances in 2004 and 2005.
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