Falcons take playoff lump from Meridian

How rude.

On the verge of qualifying for their second state appearance in as many years, South Whidbey’s girl soccer players could only watch Tuesday afternoon as a second-round Northwest District playoff game against Meridian went south fast in the matchup’s final minutes. After nearly tying the game at 1-1, the Falcons fell victim to a Trojan scoring attack that sent them home as 4-0 losers.

On the field with the Trojans for the third time this season, the South Whidbey girls played a tight game. Though Meridian’s Autumn Covert managed to post a lone first-half goal, the South Whidbey defensive squad of Michelle Schorr, Lindsey Binford, and Lena Ishii kept their end of the field clear for much of the game. South Whidbey coach Paul Arand thought his team had a chance to win the game right up to the final minutes.

“It was a close game with six minutes to go,” he said.

Late in the game it looked like the Falcons had a chance to tie. On a drive deep into Trojan territory with six minutes left on the game clock, sophomore striker Natalie Schmidt kicked a high crossing shot in front of the Meridian goal. Unfortunately, there were no South Whidbey players in the vicinity to get a head on the ball. Instead, the Trojans intercepted the shot, then shuttled it into the Falcon end of the field where North Cascades Conference scoring machine Katie Johnson kicked it past South Whidbey goalkeeper Allyson Riggs to put her team up 2-0.

A few minutes later, Johnson scored the Trojans’ third goal, then was followed by her sister, Jennifer, who nailed the team’s fourth score.

With a record of 1-1 in playoff games, the Falcons have one more chance to make it into the state playoff pool. To do it, the have to beat Blaine Saturday in a 6 p.m. game at Edmonds Stadium. The soccer season ends for the loser of that game.

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