By Quint Turner
The Mavericks’ dominance over the Shorewood Thunderbirds in the regular season carried over to the district playoffs, as Emily Crichlow notched the only goals in a 2-0 win for Meadowdale Saturday. Goalkeeper Ashley Routh earned the shutout, as the Mavericks maintained possession for most of the game.
The first half took off when Sara Fjortoft got the ball in the box and took a shot that flew high. In the 29th minute, Alisa Sagdahl got a ball deflected to her inside the box but shot wide. A free kick from Hannah Shouse near the 50-yard line got to Sagdahl in the middle of the box, but her header went over the net. The Mavericks finally got what they sought after in the 40th minute, when Sagdahl got a cross to Crichlow in the 6-yard box and she deflected the ball in to make it 1-0 Mavericks just before the half ended.
The second half featured more Maverick domination. Crichlow got a good shot outside the six-yard box that was blocked by a T-Bird defender and the ball went to Sagdahl, and her shot went high. Sofia Vargas of the T-Birds had a free kick from 30 yards out that also went high in one of their best chances of the day. But the Mavericks pressed on the T-Birds. Stapleton had a dangerous corner caught by the keeper and, one minute later, a shot from Sophie Millet sailed over the goal.
In the 50th minute, Kendall Raecker got a small breakaway down the line and put a cross in the box that went just by Crichlow. The Mavericks kept the heat on and eventually, in the 68th minute, a through ball by Alyssa Navlet went down near the box. The ball rolled slowly enough to allow Crrichlow time to catch up with the defense guarding the ball until it got to keeper Dianelle Norsby — but Crichlow fought off the defense, stole the ball and put it underneath Norsby for her second goal of the game. Shorewood got some pressure late in the game but could not generate a goal as the Mavericks closed down for a 2-0 win.
With the loss, the T-Birds are eliminated from state contention and their season ended. Meadowdale, with the win, will play the winner of the Glacier Peak/Mount Vernon game on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m., at Edmonds Stadium.
Sports correspondent Quint Turner is a sophomore at Meadowdale High School.
Real first and last names — as well as city of residence — are required for all commenters.
This is so we can verify your identity before approving your comment.
By commenting here you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please read our code at the bottom of this page before commenting.