Skyline soccer rallies in overtime to beat Issaquah for KingCo 4A title | Photos
Published 11:18 pm Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Issaquah’s last-second blow had the potential to deflate Skyline Tuesday night.
Instead, the Spartans used the score as a motivator, rallying in overtime to beat the rival Eagles 2-1 for the KingCo 4A championship.
“Our mentality just changed and it was like ‘We’re fired up, we’re ready to go, we’re going to win this game,'” senior forward Sydne Tingey said.
With just seconds remaining in regulation, Issaquah defender Morgan Zack flicked in a quick header off a cross from Lyrik Fryer to tie the game, 1-1.
The score came after the Eagles used constant pressure up front, often leaving two defenders in the backfield.
“I said if it’s 1-0 at any point I’m going to throw everybody up,” said Issaquah head coach Tom Bunnell, whose team lost 4-0 to the Spartans in the regular season. “I didn’t doubt that we were going to get one, it was just when.”
It took less than four minutes into the overtime for Skyline to answer.
In the 83rd minute, sophomore Jordan Branch broke free down the right sideline. She crossed the ball to the center of the box to a wide open Tingey, who reached behind, turned on a pivot and volleyed a shot into the right corner.
“I saw Jordan go down the line, she’s really good at that, so I was like ‘I’m going to get the ball and I’m going to score,'” Tingey said.
The shot sent the Spartan sideline rushing to greet Tingey, who secured the school’s third KingCo 4A title in four years.
“This was kind of test that quality teams must pass,” Skyline head coach Don Braman said. “Issaquah put a great gauntlet in front of us and we were able to pass the test tonight with a great finish at an important time.”
Skyline took the initial lead in the 2nd minute when Maddie Christ found Anna DeWeirdt on a corner kick. The junior forward drilled a header to the back of the net.
“We came out and executed on our first corner … then I was disappointed we didn’t earn more of those chances,” Braman said. “We would miss an important part if we didn’t realize how hard the Issaquah players worked the whole game. Tom (Bunnell) had a great plan and was able to make us work really hard.”
Skyline improved to 14-0-2 overall. As the No. 1 seed from District 2, the Spartans have the potential to host playoff games all the way through the state quarterfinals.
Issaquah (9-5-2) will have to travel to face the District 3/4 No. 3 team in the first round of state.
The 4A tournament begins Wednesday, Nov. 9 at home sites, continuing with the quarterfinals on Nov. 12. The semifinals and finals take place Nov. 18-19 at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood.
Eastlake lives to play another day
Eastlake kept its season alive Tuesday night, beating Redmond 2-1 after a shootout.
The Wolves struck in the 36th minute via an unassisted goal from Kelsey Haberly. The Mustangs answered in the 70th minute on Kelsey Costello’s unassisted score.
Eastlake goalkeeper Bryce Kennedy earned a key save in overtime, blocking a one-on-one penalty kick from Liz Zitnick.
Rebecca Priestly, Kelsey Haberly, Samantha Smith, Marisa Katagiri and Julia Bennett all scored in the shootout.
Kennedy also had two saves in the shootout, helping the Wolves (7-3-8) move on to a winner-to-state, loser-out game Saturday against the WesCo No. 3 team — either Snohomish or Lake Stevens.
Eastside Catholic falls to Seattle Prep
Eastside Catholic lost 1-0 to Seattle Prep Tuesday night, but the Crusaders are still alive.
EC faces Blanchet at 5 p.m., Thursday to earn the Metro’s No. 3 seed. The winner of that game will play the KingCo No. 3 on Saturday for the final District 2 state berth.
No stats were reported from Tuesday’s game.
Top, Skyline’s Sydne Tingey raises the KingCo 4A trophy after scoring the winning goal in overtime. Bottom, Eastlake goalkeeper Bryce Kennedy prepares to make a save during a shootout against Redmond. The eventual stop gave the Wolves a 2-1 victory and kept their season alive.
