By Quint Turner

Saturday night, the 10th-ranked Shorecrest Scots outlasted the Mavericks in a tough defensive 1-0 game, ending the Mavs’ season in the first round of the Wesco 3A regional boy’s soccer tournament. The Scots’ Callum Wijelath scored the only goal on a header, and goalkeeper Sam Schober stopped any chances for the Mavericks. Eric Henthorn was the keeper for the Mavs and had a great game, but he could do nothing to stop the goal.

The game got off to a slow start. Early corners by Shorecrest and Meadowdale were both cleared, and it wasn’t until the 22nd minute when a corner by Joe Schober went to Ian Adams, who one-timed it over the crossbar. Schober had another chance when he lofted the ball into the goal box and it bounced near Henry Wingo, but Henthorn held onto it. Glenn Paden had a shot later on that also went over the crossbar from the 20-yard line, and then Tristan Springer of Meadowdale got a ball into the box on a header, but they were unable to do anything with it.

An amazing chance for the Scots came when Axel Wickstrom shot a ball from a sharp angle that deflected off of Henthorn, and the ball was on the 1-yard line, but the Scots couldn’t score. Shorecrest would finally score in the 40th minute, when Peter Mataya of Meadowdale headed a ball back into his own goal box, trying to prevent a corner kick from happening, and it went straight to Wijelath who headed it in, making it 1-0. The score would remain 1-0 at half.

The intensity picked up in the second half as both teams played physically, leading to several tense moments. There were good chances for both teams, too. Asa Redfield of Shorecrest had a shot early on that went high, then Mataya took a free kick that was deflected. Wickstrom had a low shot that went wide that was soon followed by a shot from Shorecrest’s Kyle Gorney that also went wide. In the 58th minute, the physical play started. After Brennan Millea and Springer went up for an air ball, Millea was called for pushing him, and then was given a yellow for arguing with the ref afterward.

The 67th minute featured the best chance for the Mavericks, and the strangest play. Springer took a header from EJ Bushnell and tried to get to the goal with two defenders blocking his path. After Sam Schober took the ball from Springer, Springer fell over on Paden, who then started pushing Springer while on the ground. However, the yellow was given to Justin Chrichlow instead of Springer or either of the Scot defenders that tussled with Springer. It is not clear why Chrichlow received the card. It seemed that the only foul should’ve been on one of the defenseman.

The intensity continued until the game’s end. Bushnell challenged Joe Schober for a ball on the sideline and knocked him over, resulting in a yellow card. But the Scots shut down the Maverick offense to win 1-0.

The loss marked the end of the season for Meadowdale’s boy soccer team, as Shorecrest moves on to play Mount Vernon at Mount Vernon on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Shorewood and Glacier Peak also won their matches and will also be playing each other on Tuesday.

Sports correspondent Quint Turner is a student at Meadowdale High School.