South Whidbey soccer girls overcome Tigers, 3-1

After Thursday’s 3-1 thrashing of the Granite Falls Tigers, there’s only one more hurdle for the Falcons before district playoffs — Archbishop Murphy on Oct. 24. ATM and Cedarcrest have both secured District 1 playoff berths.

October 21, 2006 2:00 pm
Falcons Annie Doran and Annie Schmitt chase after the ball during the Falcons 3-1 victory over Granite Falls Thursday. The team travels to Archbishop Murphy Oct. 24 for their final regular contest.
Falcons Annie Doran and Annie Schmitt chase after the ball during the Falcons 3-1 victory over Granite Falls Thursday. The team travels to Archbishop Murphy Oct. 24 for their final regular contest.

After Thursday’s 3-1 thrashing of the Granite Falls Tigers, there’s only one more hurdle for the Falcons before district playoffs — Archbishop Murphy on Oct. 24.

ATM and Cedarcrest have both secured District 1 playoff berths.

But regardless of the outcome with the Wildcats, Falcons Coach Paul Arand noted the team will play Mount Vernon (No. 6 in the Northwest League) at home on Oct. 26 in a must-win contest.

“We don’t have any significant injuries right now,” Arand said.

“Plus a number of JV players — including Anna Lennon, Julia Iversen, Megan Larmore and Morgan Thompson — have proved they can play at a higher level. I’m encouraged for our chances and very pleased with the performance of everyone,” he said.

Punctuating his comment Thursday was freshman Lennon’s assist of freshman Shannon Craig’s first varsity goal of her career against the Tigers.

Before the half, South Whidbey’s Grace Itaya received a cross-field kick from Kelsie Kimmel. Itaya shot, the keeper missed and Annie Doran punched it in for the second score.

Kimmel continued to improve her skill at distributing the ball to her teammates, while Itaya at forward and Emily Grove at midfield kept up serious pressure throughout the game.

At the break, seven seniors and their parents were presented with balloons and flowers in recognition of their high school soccer achievements — Kimmel, Grove, Jennifer Shafer, Amelia Cave, Evann Sawyers-Rouse, Anna Schmitt and Hope Richards.

In the second half, Granite Falls scored on a sharp, low grounder then Kimmel made an unassisted corner kick that deflected off a player into the goal.

“Lauren (Sandri) continued to track down balls and deny on defense while Jennifer (Shafer), Rachel (Harris) and Christine Johnson maintained constant duress at midfield,” Arand said.

The Falcons are now 7-6, 9-6 overall.

The coach noted that ATM’s leading scorer is gone for the season, though their 10-2 record shows they’re always competitive.

If South Whidbey beats Mount Baker, they begin double elimination rounds against either Bellingham or Burlington-Edison on Oct. 28.

“It looks like four teams will advance to state,” Arand said. “I think we’re going to do very well.”

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or sports@southwhidbeyrecord.com.