The Pirate girls are the number four seed to the state soccer tournament from last week’s tri-district tournament.
Vashon’s girls qualified for state with a nail-biter 4-3 shoot-out win over the Orting High School Cardinals on Tuesday, Nov. 2. The Pirates were the designated “host” team for the tri-district qualifying game played on Orting High School’s home field. Vashon High School’s grass field does not meet standards for post-season play, so the Cardinals’ year-old synthetic turf field was the designated location for the round of playoffs.
Orting jumped to a 2-0 lead when Acacia Johnson punched in two goals within a two-minute stretch midway in the first half. Cat Amick put Vashon on the board with a heads-up shot just before halftime.
Carlyle Scott tied it for the Pirates early in the second half, then, with just over two minutes to go, put Vashon ahead 3-2. As the clock wound down it looked like the Pirates were headed to state, but Johnson struck again, tying the game with 17.8 seconds left in regular time.
Neither team could score in the two five-minute “golden goal” overtime periods, and the game went to a shootout with each team alternating shots on goal from the penalty spot.
Denise Griffith made the first shot for Vashon. Orting’s first shot missed. Amick buried her shot, and Orting’s second kicker did the same. Lena DeGuzman made number three for the Pirates, and the Cardinals’ matched it.
Olivia Andrus had to shoot twice when the referee called her first shot back, so she made the second try, and Vashon was up 4-2, with Orting having two more tries to Vashon’s one.
The Orting kicker shot just under the bar, and Pirate goalkeeper Larissa Kuhns leaped up to tip the ball over the top and give Vashon an entry to state.
On Thursday the Pirates played the first of two seeding games at King’s High School. Vashon drew District 2 champion and defending state champion the Seattle Academy Cardinals.
The Pirates held the Cardinals scoreless in the first half of the game, but couldn’t stop their powerful attack in the second half. Seattle Academy scored three times in the second half.
Vashon avoided a shutout when DeGuzman was brought down 30 yards short of the goal line in added time. DeGuzman took the free kick and placed the ball perfectly just under the bar to make the final score Seattle Academy 3, Vashon 1.
Saturday saw another shoot-out finish for the Pirate girls. This time it was the The Bush School Blazers who won the game and earned the third seed to state.
Bush scored early in the game, but Amick evened it up with quick thinking. Amick and a Bush defender found themselves on the ground in front of the goal with the Blazer keeper out of position after saving a shot. Amick, sitting facing the goal, pushed the ball with the sole of her shoe, and it rolled across the line before the keeper could react.
Both teams had multiple chances to go ahead in the second half, but luck and good goalkeeping by both sides kept the score even. After 10 minutes of overtime, the game went to the dreaded shootout.
Vashon had a 4-3 lead after four kicks. Vashon missed kick number five, and Bush converted, then Vashon missed number six, and the Bush kicker nailed her shot and the win for the Blazers.
Vashon was to travel to Tumwater on Tuesday to play Montesano High School in the first round of the state tournament. The winner of that game advances to the quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 13.
— Rik Forschmiedt is the former sports editor of The Beachcomber.
