Scots, T-birds moving on to Northwest District tourneys

SHORELINE — Typical of most Shorecrest vs. Shorewood contests, neither side gave an inch.

The district rivals played to a scoreless tie in Tuesday night’s Wesco 4A South Division boys soccer clash at Shoreline Stadium that was a spirited defensive battle from start to finish.

“Shorecrest is always hard to score on,” Shorewood coach Drew Thompson said. “I thought we had the better chances to score, but couldn’t put one in.”

Shorewood’s Reed Renfrow and Shorecrest’s Rylan Hawkins recorded the shutouts in goal.

“We threw them off their game with the long ball, but they have that quick counter attack we had to watch for,” Scots coach Teddy Mitalas said.

Both teams had already locked up spots in next week’s district playoffs, but their seedings had yet to be determined.

Depending on Thursday’s results, the T-birds will be awarded either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. As a No. 1 seed, Shorewood would receive two chances at securing a state berth.

By virtue of its win over Lynnwood on Tuesday Mariner pulled ahead of Shorewood going into Thursday’s games, results of which were not available for this edition of The Enterprise.

The Wesco South’s top seed faces Wesco North champion Snohomish at 7 p.m. May 14 at Goddard Stadium in a winner-to-state matchup.

The loser of that game plays in another winner-to-state contest May 14 at Goddard Stadium.

As a No. 2 seed, Shorewood would need three straight wins to advance to state. In that scenario, the T-birds would host a first-round game against the Wesco North’s third-place finisher May 11 at Shoreline Stadium.

“We’re confident going into the postseason,” Thompson said. “We’re not going to change a thing. I like what’s going on. These kids are playing well.”

Shorecrest’s postseason picture is less complicated.

If the Scots land a top four seed for the eight-team Northwest District 3A tournament, they’ll host an opening-round game May 11 at Shoreline Stadium. As a No. 5 seed or lower, the Scots would play on the road.

Semifinal games are scheduled for 5 and 7 p.m. May 13 at Civic Field in Bellingham. Winners of those games receive automatic state berths and play for the district championship at 3 p.m. May 15 at Civic Field; losers play off for a third state berth prior to the title game.

Mitalas likes Shorecrest’s chances.

“With guys coming back off injuries, we’re going to get stronger,” he said. “We have a tough enough defense. We need to find that spark again up front. We’re going to change it up again now that I’ve got some players back.”