SHORELINE — Lauren Sego and her Shorewood girls soccer teammates are cranking up the offense in the nick of time.
The sophomore forward punched in a pair of goals to help the Thunderbirds bounce Mountlake Terrace 3-1 Tuesday night at Shoreline Stadium in the final non-league game for both teams.
It was the third straight win for Shorewood (3-3-0 overall) and just the second preseason loss for the Hawks (4-2-1). Western Conference 4A South Division games were scheduled to begin last night.
After scoring just one goal in their first three games — all losses — the T-birds netted nine in their three subsequent victories over Mariner, Lynnwood and Terrace.
A 4-1 loss to Jackson Sept. 18 served as Shorewood’s wake-up call.
“It was frustrating to go 0-3 out of the gates,” T-birds coach Joe Hampson said. “The loss to Jackson didn’t represent our program well and the girls realized that. Our last three games, we’ve worked hard. We’re focused right now.”
Shorewood kept the pressure on Terrace’s defense with a flurry of shots in the first 10 minutes. But the Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute when junior forward Hayley Henry dribbled through two defenders and finished off a ball that slipped out of T-birds goalkeeper Tiffany Dillow’s grip.
It was the only opening the T-birds gave Terrace all night.
“They had one good shot and they finished it,” Hampson said.
Two minutes later, Sego evened the score with an up-close blast after the ball popped free from a pack of players in front of the Terrace goal.
Working off a Megan Sego pass, Shorewood midfielder Akosua Fordjour broke the tie in the 64th minute with a sharp, turnaround boot from 15 yards out.
Lauren Sego added a second goal in the 70th minute, beating Terrace goalie Carly Wheat to a loose ball near the edge of the goal box and angling a left-footed drive into the open net.
Fresh off a pair of shutouts, Shorewood’s defense kept busy in the second half, but didn’t give Terrace’s strikers any quality shots.
“Looking at our first three games, people will see we gave up at least a goal a game and they might think our defense is a weakness. But it’s not,” Hampson said. “We’ve made a few mistakes and as we play more together, the mistakes are being eliminated.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
