SHORELINE — The fate of the Shorecrest boys soccer team was in good hands in last week’s Class 3A state playoff clash with Skyline.
Those of team captain Rylan Hawkins, to be exact.
After 90 scoreless minutes, the junior goalkeeper stuffed two Skyline shots in a row during a tense penalty kick shootout to preserve a 1-0 Shorecrest victory May 21 at Shoreline Stadium.
The narrow win sends the Scots to the state semifinals for the first time in five years. It will be the fifth appearance in the Final Four in 15 seasons for head coach Teddy Mitalas, who has announced that he is stepping down at the end of the season.
Shorecrest (13-4-4) will next face Western Conference South Division rival Meadowdale (18-2-1) at 1 p.m. today at Doc Harris Stadium in Camas.
The winner will meet the winner of Mount Rainier/Cheney in the state championship game at 5 p.m. tomorrow. Losers of the semifinal games play for third and fourth at 11 a.m.
“It’s been awhile since we’ve gone this far in state,” said Hawkins, who recorded his 13th shutout of the season against Skyline. “It was a goal, but we never expected it. We just went out and played with heart.”
Shorecrest trailed 1-0 in the shootout when Hawkins lunged to his right for his first save. Defender Colin Adams then converted his kick to knot the score and Hawkins caught Skyline’s next attempt to give the Scots the advantage.
Center midfielder Taylor Starkey put Shorecrest in front 2-1 by directing his shot to the lower left corner, but the Spartans pulled even on Michael Branscum’s blast just past the reach of Hawkins.
Midfielder Kurtis Wong then drove what proved to be the game-winner by Spartans goalie Nick Watson. Skyline’s fifth shooter skied his shot high and wide to the left and the turf quickly turned into a mob scene.
Hawkins was tackled by his teammates, then hoisted atop the shoulders of his classmates, who rushed the field to join in the celebration. Chants of “Ry-lan, Ry-lan” filled the air as he was paraded around the field.
“We’ve got the best fans around,” Hawkins said. “The last game they rushed the field, but nothing like this. It’s great. We’ve got some of the best fans in the whole state.”
During regulation Hawkins registered seven saves. He broke up a give-and-go in the 13th minute and dove to his right to snag another Skyline shot five minutes later. In the second half, he turned away three long-range blasts to force overtime.
“I felt confident in a shootout because of Rylan,” Mitalas said. “Like I told him (before the game), ‘If you just stop two, we’re going to win this.’”
Prior to each penalty kick Hawkins paced the goal line, then settled into his stance and faced the shooter.
“I just try to read where they’re going,” Hawkins said. “Instincts is what it comes down to.”
Mitalas anticipated a defensive battle with the Spartans, who had won nine of their past 10 games and allowed more than one goal just three times.
“It was going to be who was going to make the mistake and nobody made a mistake,” Mitalas said.
Most of Shorecrest’s best scoring opportunities came in the first half.
In the 33rd minute, Wong lofted a corner kick deep inside the box and Jordan Hamanishi headed it toward the goal. With less than two minutes to go, Spencer Schrote stole a Skyline pass and rocketed a left-footed shot to Watson, who finished with six saves.
“It was really intense,” Wong said. “We’d heard this team has a really good defense and they have trouble scoring. That’s the word on us too. We have a good defense, we just have trouble putting the ball in the back of the net.”
Hawkins and the Shorecrest defense will encounter even more pressure from a high-octane Meadowdale squad that is averaging 3.5 goals a game and is coming off a 4-0 quarterfinal rout of Seattle Prep.
In their last meeting, the Scots avenged a 1-0 preseason loss by dealing Meadowdale one of its two defeats. Starkey scored on two penalty kicks to lift Shorecrest to a 3-1 victory April 20.
Since the loss, the Mavericks are 9-1 and have outscored their competition 38-6. Meadowdale finished third at state last year and is the only Final Four participant returning for the second straight year.
Shorecrest is 0-4 in semifinal games under Mitalas, with all four losses coming to West Valley of Yakima. In 1998 and 1999 the Scots finished third at state.
“Everyone else sees us as underdogs, but we knew we were going all the way,” Wong said. “I had a feeling we’d be here.”
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