SHORELINE — In a game where athletic ability is even between both teams, the difference between winning and losing comes down to very fine nuances.
A case in point would be Monday night’s game between the Lake Stevens and the Shorewood girls soccer teams which came down to hustle and competence as the Vikings edged the Thunderbirds 1-0 in a Class 4A District 1 loser-out playoff game at Shoreline Stadium.
“Whoever makes the one mistake will lose the game,” Shorewood coach Teddy Mitalas said he told his team. Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds he was right.
In the 68th minute Taryn Wright crossed the ball from the right side into the center perfectly, evading defenders and setting up center forward Danielle Ali for a chip shot from about 15 yards out in traffic.
It turned out to be the only score of an aggressive, back and forth game that pitted the fourth seed from the Wesco North, Lake Stevens, against the South’s No. 3, Shorewood.
Throughout the first half neither team established itself as the favorite, with both the Thunderbirds and Vikings controlling the ball at times and getting shots on goal.
The Vikings (7-6-4 overall) showed that they were the more aggressive team though, often drawing whistles from the referees when their efforts went too far. Lake Stevens kept the pressure on and threw Shorewood (10-6-1) out of sync, eventually capitalizing on the Thunderbirds’ miscues in the second half.
“The physicalness got to us,” Mitalas said. “A lot of our girls backed off and you can’t do that.”
Shorewood almost came back in the final fifteen minutes of the game, pressing the ball more and putting the Vikings on their heels.
In the 64th minute midfielder Alexa Valentine’s kick almost snuck into the top right corner of the goal, but Viking goalie Erial Three Stars made a one-handed stop, spiking the ball upward off the top crossbar, and keeping it out of the goal. Then with less than five minutes in the game, midfielder Kayli Kamacho outleaped the Viking defenders on a corner kick to head the ball, only to have it sail high and just miss over the top.
Mitalas said his team didn’t slide tackle and lacked cohesiveness. Shorewood’s coach also said the Wesco North has a reputation for being a more physical league and the Vikings proved those rumors to be true.
Oddly enough, Lake Stevens defender/midfielder Alexa Moriarty said she heard the same about the Wesco South. Regardless of the rumors, both teams played hard.
“We felt like this was one of the most aggressive games,” Moriarty said.
Thunderbirds should be in good shape for next year. Mitalas said that in addition to his overachieving underclassmen, he’s excited about who will come out of the junior varsity team, which went 14-1 this season.
The Vikings next play Marysville-Pilchuck at 7 p.m. tonight at Snohomish. The Tomahawks are the second seed from the Wesco North.
At Shoreline Stadium
Goals—Lake Stevens: Ali. Assists—Lake Stevens: Wright. Goalkeepers—Lake Stevens: McKenzie, Three Stars. Shorewood: Butterfield. Records—Lake Stevens 7-6-4 overall. Shorewood 10-6-1.
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