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With the postseason just three weeks away, the Meadowdale Mavericks and Mountlake Terrace Hawks were looking to fight through adversity and establish some winning momentum for themselves on Tuesday. After the teams were tied 1-1 at halftime, Meadowdale’s Madison Weigel and Abby Bernards scored second-half goals to propel the Mavericks to a 3-1 victory over the Hawks in the Wesco League South Conference matchup.
Meadowdale’s second-half goals came both early and late in the 40 minutes: Weigel headed in a Kyla Johns corner kick nine minutes in to give the Mavs the early second-half lead; Bernards bounced a shot in off the crossbar late in the match’s next-to-last minute to seal the Meadowdale win.
Johns, who in addition to the Weigel assist scored a goal herself in the game’s 13th minute, said the victory was important for the Mavericks’ psyche considering the up-and-down season the team has experienced so far.
“This is important; we needed this, especially mentally, we needed this,” Johns said. “Because in our first games, we were just dragging a little bit. We were in our heads so much. This game, I think it just cleared everything up for us. And we’re going to improve.”
Meadowdale was the aggressor throughout the match on Tuesday, controlling play and outshooting Terrace 23-7. But it was some sharp passing that ultimately gave the Mavericks the winning edge.
Johns’ first-half goal was served up to her off a give-and-go with teammate Dulce Alvarez. “I passed it up to Dulce (Alvarez) and then Dulce — she’s a really tricky player, so I know she’s going to just tap it through to me,” Johns explained. “So I made the run. I called for it and then I had it open and so I just phased in with my left, in the corner.”
John’s corner kick assist on Weigel’s goal in the 49th minute was a connection the two sophomores have completed many times over the past few years, Johns said.
“Ever since middle school she’s been heading in my corners,” Johns said of Weigel. “So I’m always happy to see her out there when I’m kicking a corner. She always knows how to get them in.”
Bernards’ insurance goal in the 79th minute was disputed by Terrace players and coaches after the sophomore’s shot from 7 yards out clanged off the crossbar, dropped straight down then back out into the field of play. After a short discussion between the referee and the assistant referee along the sideline, the goal was given and Meadowdale’s winning margin was secured.
Terrace’s goal came off the foot of junior Taylor Williams in the 34th minute after a nifty pass from teammate Mia Rheinheimer. But other Hawks’ opportunities to score in the match were squashed by the effort of senior Mavs’ goalkeeper Jordan Brannon, who made six saves in the game — her best being diving saves in the 21st minute to stop a shot by Allison Mervin and in the 79th minute to prevent a shot by Brielle Hord.
Mountlake Terrace goalkeeper junior goalkeeper Jordyn Stokes did her best to keep her squad in the match with 16 saves, her best being diving saves in the 19th and 55th minutes.
A frustrated first-year Terrace Coach Josh Cardin kept his squad in a sideline huddle for some time after the match, looking for some answers as the team is now riding a four-game losing streak and has just one win in their past nine matches.
“It’s been a year where it seems like every game there’s one or two things that just doesn’t go our way. And the other team capitalizes on it,” Cardin said after dismissing his squad.
“You can call it bad luck or whatever,” he continued. “But I feel like we fight hard and we’re doing good things out there and then we make that one big mistake and teams are able to just really capitalize and get the goal. And that’s what’s been costing us every game.”
Cardin explained that injuries have also contributed to the difficulty the team has had in creating an identity to build upon.
“We don’t know who’s healthy come week to week and so we’ve had a different starting lineup, we’ve had different second half lineups because of personnel issues or injuries,” Cardin said. “Again, I just don’t think we’ve had that chemistry yet, that midseason chemistry that we should have right now.”
Terrace (1-5-1 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference play, 3-7-1 overall) is ranked No. 13 in the District 1 3A RPI rankings, used to determine who will make the 12-team District 1 postseason tournament that begins at the end of the month. With just five matches remaining in the regular season, the Hawks will need some good results down the stretch in order to move up into a spot that would give them a berth in the district tourney.
With Tuesday’s victory, Meadowdale (3-3-1 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference play, 5-4-1 overall) moved up to No. 9 in the District 1 3A RPI rankings. With games still remaining against the conference teams above them in the standings (Archbishop Murphy, Edmonds-Woodway, Shorecrest and Shorewood), the Mavs still have some work to do before they can celebrate a potential district tourney berth. But on Tuesday, Johns was only thinking about what they had accomplished that night, a win over Mountlake Terrace.
“It feels really good,” she said.
Prep Girls Soccer: Mountlake Terrace at Meadowdale, Oct. 7
Mountlake Terrace 1 0 – 1
Meadowdale 1 2 – 3
Goal scorers:
– Kyla Johns (Meadowdale), assisted by Dulce Alvarez, in the 13th minute
– Taylor Williams (Mountlake Terrace), assisted by Mia Rheinheimer, in the 34th minutes
– Madison Weigel (Meadowdale), assisted by Kyle Johns, in the 49th minute
– Abby Bernards (Meadowdale) in the 79th minute
Shots:
– Mountlake Terrace, 7
– Meadowdale, 23
Saves:
– Jordyn Stokes (Mountlake Terrace), 16
– Jordan Brannon (Meadowdale), 6
Corner kicks:
– Mountlake Terrace, 0
– Meadowdale, 5
Yellow cards:
– none
Records: Mountlake Terrace 1-5-1 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 3-7-1 overall; Meadowdale 3-3-1 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 5-4-1 overall
Mountlake Terrace next match: versus Edmonds-Woodway; Thursday, Oct. 9; 7:30 p.m. at Edmonds Stadium
Meadowdale next match: versus Archbishop Murphy; Thursday, Oct. 9; 7:30 p.m. at Lynnwood High School
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