BELLINGHAM — For the Meadowdale Mavericks, the difference between winning and losing in the opening round of the District 1 3A girls soccer championships was a small one — about as large as the wrist of a Maverick defender.
That wrist, and its ensuing contact with the ball, resulted in Meadowdale sustaining a 1-0 loss to the Squalicum Storm Monday at Civic Stadium.
At the 34-minute mark Squalicum was the recipient of a free kick down the sideline to the right of the Maverick goal, about 20 yards out. As the ball lofted towards the goal mouth, a Maverick defender on the wall raised her arm, making contact with the ball and setting up a penalty kick to be defended by Allie Wirtala.
Storm midfielder Rachelle Saletto lined up the ball at the top of the box. Her shot hit the underside of the crossbar, dropping straight down, just inside the goal line, marking the only score of the game.
Being behind in a game was an experience unfamiliar to the Mavericks. It was something that had not occurred since the third game of the season. Being in that situation was exactly the concern that worried coach Mike Bartley carried into the postseason.
“I was afraid that we would get in this position,” Bartley said. “Our defense has been strong and has held the score down all season but we have not generated many goals.”
The Maverick defense performed to regular season form, holding the Storm to just three shots on goal.
But it was a game closing offensive barrage by the Mavericks that gave Bartley hope that his squad would bounce back in successive rounds of the tournament. In the final minute the Mavericks kept play close to the Storm goal. Two successive shots found the crossbar and a post.
“It showed me that we can come back,” he said. “We haven’t been in that situation all season and I wasn’t sure how the players would react.”
The loss to the Storm pushed the Mavericks into a loser-out game against fellow Wesco 4A South member Shorecrest on Nov. 6, the results of which were not available for this edition of The Enterprise.
The Mavericks and Scots met twice in the regular season. Meadowdale lost once in a non-counting game early in the season and the two teams fought to a scoreless regular season tie during league competition.
The Scots lost in the opening round to Bellingham, 2-0.
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