SHORELINE — Despite a lackadaisical first half, Shorecrest mustered enough of an effort to beat Mount Vernon 1-0 Oct. 31 and move into the 3A District 1 title game.
Shorecrest forward Gina Adams tapped in a right-footed shot off a cross from fellow forward Cora Speidel in the 55th minute for the game’s only goal.
Speidel created a sliver of space between herself and a couple defenders in the right corner of the field and launched the pass.
“When she dribbles outside I know she’s going to beat everyone, she’s Speedy Gonzales,” Adams said.
The goal was the first the Bulldogs (12-6) had given up in six games.
“I thought we played prettier than them at times, but they’re so dangerous up front. But I thought our outside defender Kate Toepfer dealt with 16 (Speidel) brilliantly tonight,” Mount Vernon coach Gary Warman said. “We made the forwards play back a lot which is the key to shutting Shorecrest down.”
Shorecrest attacked the goal with 12 shots to five for Mount Vernon, but many of them went over the goal, especially in the first half.
“We kept on hitting them high,” Adams said. “We need to keep them low. That’s exactly what that goal was, it was low.”
The young, sophomore-heavy Mount Vernon outplayed the Scots in the midfield. Shorecrest also lucked out when Bulldogs’ freshman forward Tia Brogna had a wide-open look from about 12 yards out in the first half but couldn’t pull the trigger.
“They were asleep for some reason,” Shorecrest coach Mindy Dalziel said of her team’s performance. “They did not come out ready to play.”
Still, Dalziel said she was pleased with the play of her defenders Katie Kirkness, Jocelyn Riordan and Katie McCorkell
“She got there and won balls and didn’t fool with it in the back,” Dalziel said of Kirkness.
Shorecrest (12-5-1) took on Everett Nov. 2 in a game played after Enterprise deadlines for the district’s top state playoff berth. If the Scots lose to Everett, they will have to play either Arlington or Mount Vernon Nov. 4 for the district’s second state playoff berth.
Scots dump Cubs
Shorecrest opened the district playoffs with a 3-0 win over Sedro-Woolley Oct. 28 at Shoreline Stadium.
The Scots took control early, scoring twice in the first half.
In the 10th minute, Adams set up from the left, inside the penalty box, and knocked a shot past Sedro-Woolley goalkeeper Aimee Fisher.
Junior midfielder Katie McCorkell scored a goal in the 25th minute on a direct free kick that skidded through the legs of Fisher.
Freshman Agen Heffernan added a goal in the 65th minute.
Adams said Fisher made some amazing saves on good shots, but the goals came on less challenging shots.
Shorecrest went with a two-forward, five-midfielder, three-defender formation against the Cubs. Adams joined Speidel at forward the final part of the season to take some pressure off Speidel, the Scots’ leading goal scorer.
“It’s creating some offense for us,” Dalziel said. “I needed someone else to (be an) offensive threat. Somebody who can help possess the ball and give us a different dynamic. Gina can hold onto the ball and create things.”
Shorecrest, which finished the regular season, 10-5-1, started out 6-0-1. In the second half, the Scots struggled against teams they beat earlier in the season because of injuries and also because teams learned how to play the Scots after earlier losses.
Senior midfielder Sylvia Olsby is still out with a torn medial collateral ligament in her right knee. Olsby could return for the state playoffs but Dalziel said she is probably done for the season.
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