SHORELINE — Seven minutes into its season opener the Shorecrest girls soccer team gave up a goal to crosstown Shorewood.
Lesson learned.
Just one other team has scored on the Scots since Tess Bartlett sliced through the Shorecrest defense and finished off a lead pass with a line drive to the far post.
Shorecrest came back to tie the Thunderbirds and won its final four non-league outings in convincing fashion.
The district rivals appeared headed for another stalemate when they met for the second time last week to open Western Conference South Division play.
But late in the second half Slyvia Olsby tangled with a Shorewood defender and drew a foul as she dribbled toward the goal. Banimi Lawson punched the ensuing penalty kick just inside the left post in the 77th minute to lift the Scots to a 1-0 victory Sept. 30 at Shoreline Stadium.
“I thought we were threatening a lot, even though we didn’t get a lot of goals,” Shorecrest coach Gary Harris said. “Their defenders were running towards their goal more than ours.”
It was the fifth straight shutout for the Scots and the first time Shorewood was held scoreless this fall since a 1-0 overtime loss to Eastlake three weeks earlier.
“They got us out of our game plan and we never got back to it,” Thunderbirds coach Joe Hampson said.
The Scots went on to defeat Kamiak 4-2 Tuesday night for their sixth consecutive win. Olsby netted three unassisted goals and Lindsey Willar also scored.
Through seven games Shorecrest (2-0 league, 6-0-1) has outscored its opposition 22-3. Last year it took the Scots 12 games to record as many goals.
“We’ve been communicating very well and are getting to know how each other plays,” Lawson said. “We’re trying to incorporate the mids as well as the forwards in our offense. The outside defenders as well.
“We’ve just got to keep it up. We don’t want to underestimate any of our opponents or anything like that.”
Lawson’s four goals rank second on the team behind Olsby. The sophomore forward contributed six goals in Shorecrest’s first five games and leads the team with nine.
“She plays at a high level,” Harris said. “She’s always moving and she always wants the ball.”
In addition to her keen instincts and talent with the ball, Olsby has impressed Harris with her willingness to learn and improve.
“She is one of the most coachable players I’ve ever had,” Harris said. “She looks you in the eyes and takes feedback and wants to get better.”
Harris emphasized that those attributes are shared by the rest of this year’s team, which he believes has sparked the successful start.
“This group always practices hard and plays hard,” he said. “If you practice the same way you’re going to play, you’re going to get better.”
Shorewood bounced back from the loss to the Scots by blanking Mariner 2-0 Tuesday. Lauren Sego assisted on Bartlett’s goal in the 23rd minute and scored in the second half.
It was the fourth victory in six games for the Thunderbirds (1-1, 4-4-1).
“One nice thing about this team is we’ve tried some different looks and different formations,” Hampson said. “They’re comfortable switching back and forth.”
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