Undefeated and defending state champion Overtake blanked the South Whidbey High School soccer team 3-0 Saturday, May 12, in the bi-district championship game at Sammamish High School.

Despite the loss, the Falcons I11-6-2) move on to the state tournament and face Olympic League champion Klahowya (15-3-1) Tuesday, May 15, at Oak Harbor High School.

“There’s no question that Overlake is an excellent team, probably the best offensive team we’ve faced all year,” coach Emerson Robbins said. “There is no question that technically they are the better team. They move the ball with precision and speed and are extremely well organized.

“However, the most technical team does not always win soccer games. I know that most of our guys, as well as myself, felt they were beatable.”

Robbins said this team played well in the first half but made a mistake in leaving an Overlake player unmarked, which resulted in an Owl goal.

“Their second goal was probably mostly my fault as I had our outside mid stay high up for a counter attack, leaving our outside back having to defend two attackers,” Robbins said. “I took some chances that in retrospect I would not have taken.”

Overlake’s third goal came when the Falcons left the Owls’ most dangerous attacker unchecked.

South Whidbey changed to a more attacking formation in the final 10 minutes and created some “decent opportunities,” according to Robbins.

The Falcons played without Michael Lux, who led the Cascade Conference in scoring with 20 goals, because of an injury. Robbins said Lux could return for Tueday’s match.

Overall, the match wasn’t one of the Falcons’ best showings, according to Robbins.

“In any case, at worst, our guys learned that we can play with the returning state champions,” Robbins said. “However, on Tuesday Eve, we’ll need to have a much better showing than this last one in order to keep our season going.”