Soccer team on edge of advancing
Published 7:00 am Saturday, October 22, 2005
It was something of a bittersweet week for the South Whidbey High girl’s soccer team. Perched at 5-4 in Cascade Conference and 11-4 overall, they qualified for a district playoff game against Lynnwood Oct. 27. And the Falcons celebrated seven players in their last season for South Whidbey, but lost two crucial games to Archbishop Murphy and Cedarcrest.
During halftime at Tuesday’s
2-1 loss to ATM, parents and friends gathered to honor seniors Katie Watson, Nicole Falso, Jenna Wild, Rita Jones, Kaylee Baldwin, Lucy Brennan and Amy Pfeiffer. Falso and Pfeiffer played two years, while the rest were on board for a full four-year tour on the Falcons soccer squad.
On the field, the Wildcats scored their second goal with a bit over 20 minutes remaining in the first period, but were then shut down for the balance of the night. Freshman Karissa Thomas scored the only Falcon goal.
“We could have played better,” Watson said. “Natasha (Roberts) was out and I think we missed her.”
“She and Lauren (Sandri) were both gone against Cedarcrest and our backfield suffered. We had some tough games this week,” she added.
Coach Paul Arand said the difference may have been ball control — playing on turf versus grass.
“Cedarcrest’s field is 25 yards wider and the surface dictates more emphasis on ball speed over ground. It was a pressure-filled situation,” he said.
Falso said the Cedarcrest offense also came on strong. “They were really aggressive, but we showed them a lot of class. We actually dominated on the field but just couldn’t get the shots into the net,” she said.
Kelsey Kimmel was more specific.
“Sometimes we held onto the ball too long at Cedarcrest,” she recalled. “We need to work more on the short passing game.”
She noted most Red Wolves play club soccer all year, giving them a clear advantage. “But by the second half we did play a lot better.”
Arand added that the Red Wolves didn’t make any spectacular shots, but capitalized on every opportunity to score.
A win at Lynnwood will propel the team to a game against the number-one seed in the Northwest District, currently the undefeated Burlington-Edison Tigers.
Today, the girls have their last home game of the season as they welcome the Sultan Turks (2-5, 5-8-1), 10 a.m. at Waterman Field.
