By Quint Turner

The King Western Conference Challenge gives teams from WesCo and KingCo a chance to play each other to determine the better soccer conference. And Saturday, the Meadowdale Lady Mavericks once again proved their mettle by knocking off the Redmond Mustangs by a score of 1-0, with the single goal coming on an Emily Critchlow tap-in off Jasmine Parsley’s cross into the box. Goaltender Ashley Routh of the Mavericks wasn’t tested much, with just two shots on net by the Mustangs, but she held strong to earn her second straight shutout.

The Mavericks got early pressure in the first three minutes. Taylor Monroe-Jones took a shot from inside the box that was deflected out of bounds by a Mustang defender, setting up a corner kick for Rosalyn Stapleton. She sent a cross that sailed over the crossbar and out of bounds. Two minutes later, Parsley got the ball around the corner of the field on the Mustang side, cut back towards the box past the Mustang defender, and sent a low cross into the goal box. Critchlow one-timed the ball in, past the Mustang keeper, and the Mavs were up 1-0 in the 3rd minute.

To give credit to the Mavericks, they didn’t just sit back and defend the rest of the way; they were trying to add to their lead. In the 15th minute, Hannah Shouse tested the goalie with a long 35-yard shot, but it barely cleared the crossbar. Next, in the 29th minute, Megan Zollars dribbled to the corner of the box, then cut back upfield before sending a low shot toward the net that was punched away by the goalie. The last good chance of the half for the Mavericks was the 38th minute, when Shouse tried to score on a long shot again, but it just went over the net. The Mavericks took a 1-0 lead into the half.

Once again the Mavericks put pressure on the Mustangs to start the second half. Stapleton earned her team a corner, and then took a low one that had to be cleared by the Mustang defense to keep the game at just 1-0. In the 53rd minute, Stapleton took a free kick from 28 yards out, and sent a shot on net, but it was easily saved. Redmond had its best chance of the day in the 70th minute when a low shot by Grace Gerchell off a free kick had to be punched away by Routh to keep the ball out. The ball rebounded to Andrea Larson at the top of the box, but her shot went wide of the net. The Mustangs had another good chance in the 77th minute when Kennecky Kennecker took a 40-yard shot on net, but Routh closed the door once more, and the Mavericks held on to the 1-0 win.

With the win, the Mavericks go to 5-0 (2-0 in conference) on the year, and their next game is at Glacier Peak on Tuesday, at 7:30 p.m.

Goals Scored: Meadowdale: 3rd Minute: Critchlow, asst’d by J. Parsley

Quint Turner is a student at Meadowdale High School.