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| Gonzaga Prep squares off against Yakima's West Valley in 4A semifinal Friday evening (photo: INWsn) |
Gonzaga Prep and West Valley of Yakima square off in one of the two 4A semifinals Friday evening, ensuring one area side will be playing for the title on Saturday. Southridge is still alive in the 3A tournament, Ellensburg is still in the hunt for the 2A championship and Connell is up for the 1A crown. The St George's boys are also still playing, looking for the 1B/2B title.
After three shootouts in their first four postseason games, the Bullpups of Gonzaga Prep have broken away from that trend and kicked off the state tournament with a pair of victories.
They edged Todd Beamer on Tuesday on a goal from Darby Doyle in the 19th minute and used a pair of Larkin Russell goals - one in each half - to down Bellarmine Prep in the quarterfinals Saturday.
The one ingredient that did continue for Gonzaga Prep, however, was the defense, which posted its fifth shutout in six playoff games. The only goal the Bullpups, led by goalkeeper Zoe Boleneus (six saves for the season), have given up was to league foe University.
It could be a defensive showdown Friday evening in Puyallup as the Rams of West Valley also boast a successful defensive record. They enter the match with a dozen shutouts in league and postseason play.
On Saturday, they blanked Ferris for their third shutout in as many playoff games with Caitlin Quaempts scoring her 16th goal of the season early and Carli Short clinching things in the final minute.
In other 4A contests, Wenatchee was knocked out 4-0 by Bellarmine Prep in the opening round and Ferris edged Chiawana, the top 4A side from the MCC, 1-0 to move onto the second round before being eliminated. Sydney Clements provided the winning goal, her sixth tally of the year, in the 13th minute for the Saxons with Alexis Murphy registering her sixth assist of the year. Chrissy Fitzgerald held the Pasco school off the board for her third shutout of the season as Ferris eliminated the Riverhawks just five days after falling 2-1 to them in the semifinals of the regional tournament.
Media Features:
3A ROUND-UP ##########
In other 3A results, Kamiakin was no match for visiting Holy Names, falling 4-0. It marked the first time in official play that the Braves, who outscored their district and regional playoff opposition 18-3, had been shutout this season.
Media Feature: Southridge by Tri-City Herald [+]
2A ROUND-UP ##########
After advancing from regionals against the three and four seeds out of the CWAC, the GNL duo of East Valley and Clarkston had to open the 2A state tourney against the CWAC's top sides.
Clarkston, meanwhile, came up short at Ellensburg, which dominated their league with an unbeaten record. The hosts advanced with a goal in the 67th minute against the Bantoms, and then reached the final four with a 3-1 victory over East Valley on Saturday.
Ellory Ferris fed Jordyn Arlt in the second and 24th minutes to build a two-goal lead for Ellensburg. Bastin netted her 15th of the year for the Knights in the 64th, but Reyna Schedler, who set up Wednesday's winner for Ellensburg scored in the 73rd courtesy of Arlt to lock up the result.
Media Feature: Ellensburg by Yakima Herald [+]
1A ROUND-UP ##########
In 1A play, Freeman was drubbed out of the tournament in an 8-1 loss on the road against Cascade of Leavenworth in the opening round while Deer Park survived a thriller, edging visiting Naches Valley 5-4 in overtime.
Martinson, however, answered quickly with goals in the 47th and 59th to erase the deficit and Courtney Stark put the Stags in front in the 67th. Mendoza finished her hat-trick in the 70th to level things again and send the match to overtime where Martinson tallied her fourth of the game and 31st of the year in the 88th.
Cascade went on to defeat La Salle 2-0 in the second round.
Deer Park's run, though, would come to an end Saturday against Connell, which advanced from the first round via shootout after a 1-1 draw with Cascade Christian.
Corner kicks late in the half proved the Stags' undoing as Jessica Garcia fed the ball into the box, finding Mattie Mauseth in the 31st and Jakkie Rivera six minutes later. Deer Park struggled to find an equalizer in the second half as they kept the defensive third crowded, which in combination with the field conditions limited opportunities for Emmy Moore and Martinson.
"Soggy, wet, slippery - both ways," said Deer Park Head Coach Sean O'Neal. "Yeah, we slipped a lot going forward. The conditions were a little bit difficult."
Despite the conditions, Martinson dazzled at times with her movement on the ball often times beating the first defender only to come up against two more. With a little over five minutes remaining she created an excellent chance when she initially went left at the top of the box before cutting and driving parallel across almost the entire top of the box before spinning to fire from about 25 yards. The ball slipped through the keeper's hands, but Thomas, who had 15 goals and eight assists this season, was unable to get a foot on it at the left post as the keeper scrambled to recover the ball.
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| Connell players celebrate after the final whistle (photo: INWsn) |
The 2015 campaign may turn out to be a warning shot for the 1A opposition next year as the team is only losing one senior - Taylor Redford - and has a number of talented players joining the team next year that O'Neal expects to be immediate contributors.
"Only one senior, and some incoming freshman that will help this next coming season. They will help fill some of the voids that we do have, so next year should be an outstanding year."
Media Feature: Connell by Tri-City Herald [+]
1/2B BOYS ROUND-UP ##########
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| The Dragons have allowed just one goal during current 8-game win streak (photo: SGHS) |
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| Dragons celebrate at Prescott (SGHS) |
Saturday's match was their stiffest test of what had previously been an easy postseason slate. Michael Hamilton scored in the 26th and 49th to give the Dragons a two-goal advantage before Prescott got on the board at the hour mark via Jose Gonzalez.
The Dragons have dominated their class during league play this season but split earlier this season with Prescott, the classification's runners-up a year ago, in a pair of 1-0 contests that finished in favor of the road teams. The loss was the start of a rough patch for St George's in which the side lost three of four contests midseason, though the other two were against Idaho's 5A Lewiston and 4A Lakeland and it was part of a busy portion of their campaign that saw them play five games in eight days.
"Prescott is a great team. After we settled into a more reasonable schedule, the kids have really played well. Looking forward to our trip to Sumner. We play Friday night versus the defending state champions, Mt. Vernon Christian. Should be a great game. The boys have been putting in the work deserving of a great tournament. Hopefully it will all come together for us - two more games to go."
STATE TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND RESULTS
Tuesday, November 10
4A - Wenatchee 0 :: 4 Bellarmine Prep
4A - Todd Beamer 0 :: 1 Gonzaga Prep
4A - Ferris 1 :: 0 Chiawana
3A - Holy Names 4 :: 0 Kamiakin
3A - Auburn Riverside 1 :: 2 Southridge
1A - Naches Valley 4 :: OT :: Deer Park
1A - Freeman 1 :: 8 Cascade (Leavenworth)
Wednesday, November 11
4A - Puyallup (3) 0 :: PK 0 (4) West Valley (Yakima)
2A - Prosser 0 :: 6 East Valley (Spokane)
2A - Clarkston 0 :: 1 Ellensburg
STATE TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL MATCHES
Saturday, November 14
4A - Bellarmine Prep 0 :: 2 Gonzaga Prep
4A - Ferris 0 :: 2 West Valley (Yakima)
3A - Holy Names 1 :: 2 Southridge
2A - East Valley (Spokane) 1 :: 3 Ellensburg
1A - Connell 2 :: 1 Deer Park
STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKETS
4A Bracket [+] 3A Bracket [+] 2A Bracket [+] 1A Bracket [+] 1/2B Girls [+] 1/2B Boys [+]
STATE TOURNAMENT FINAL FOUR SCHEDULES
4A @ Sparks Stadium, Puyallup
Gonzaga Prep v West Valley (Yakima) 6:00
Camas v Issaquah 8:00
Third Place - Saturday, 12:00
Championship - Saturday, 4:00
3A @ Sparks Stadium, Puyallup
Southridge v Arlington 2:00
Edmonds-Woodway v Seattle Prep 4:00
Third Place - Saturday, 10:00 am
Championship - Saturday, 2:00
2A @ Shoreline Stadium, Shoreline
Ridgefield v Ellensburg 6:00
Liberty (Issaquah) v Squalicum 8:00
Third Place - Saturday, 12:00
Championship - Saturday, 4:00
1A @ Shoreline Stadium, Shoreline
King's v Seattle Christian 2:00
Connell v Cascade (Leavenworth) 4:00
Third Place - Saturday, 10:00 am
Championship - Saturday, 2:00
1/2B Girls @ Sunset Chev Stadium, Sumner
Adna v Okanogan 2:00
Crosspoint v La Conner 4:00
Third Place - Saturday, 10:00 am
Championship - Saturday, 2:00
1/2B Boys @ Sunset Chev Stadium, Sumner
Mount Vernon Christian v Saint George's 6:00
Crosspoint v Tacoma Baptist 8:00
Third Place - Saturday, 12:00
Championship - Saturday, 4:00
If you have any updates for stats (particularly assists that go unrecorded for road games), please drop INWsn a note at snaeditor-at-gmail.com. INWsn is currently missing scoring (and GK) information for 11.10 Freeman @ Cascade, 10.23 Rogers @ LC, 10/15 Moses Lake @ Eastmont, 10/13 Eastmont @ Eisenhower, 10/3 Pasco @ Walla Walla and 9.24 Medical Lake @ Newport games.
STATISTICAL LEADERS - CENTRAL / SOUTHERN AREA LEAGUES
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