EDMONDS — Put Glacier Peak and Shorecrest together on the same soccer field and somebody has to win. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy for either side.
And so it was on Thursday night as the two Western Conference powerhouse rivals faced off in the Class 3A District 1 championship game at Edmonds District Stadium. Glacier Peak got the initial goal in the first half, Shorecrest got the tying goal in the second half, and the teams battled through two scoreless five-minute overtime periods.
The outcome was decided in penalty kicks, and Glacier Peak’s sensational senior Andrew Weakly was simply too stout in goal, turning away two shots and watching a third go over the crossbar.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, got successful kicks from Kyle Bjornethun, Jordan Steranka and Shane Miller, with Miller’s goal clinching the 2-1 victory (3-1 in penalty kicks).
“It was a heavyweight bout,” said Glacier Peak coach Shannon Murray. “That’s Shorecrest-Glacier Peak, in a nutshell. We took their best shot, they took our best shot, and it went back and forth.
“That’s what playoff soccer is all about, and I’m absolutely ecstatic about it,” he added. “I couldn’t be more proud of (the Grizzlies).”
It was the first district title for Glacier Peak, which lost in the semifinals last year and finished third before going unbeaten through its remaining postseason games to win the Class 3A state title.
This season the Grizzlies are 18-1. Their only loss came against Shorecrest on May 2, a 3-0 decision at Shoreline Stadium.
The Scots, meanwhile, are 17-2, and both defeats came against Glacier Peak. In addition to Thursday’s setback, Shorecrest lost 3-1 at Glacier Peak on April 4.
On Thursday, Glacier Peak scored midway through the first half when a long free kick by midfielder Gregor Troost put the ball in front of the Shorecrest goal. Scots goalkeeper Sam Schober got a piece of the ball, but it came off his hands and landed near the left goal post.
Miller was standing right there, and as the ball landed at his feet he slammed it across the goal into the right side of the net.
“We’ve been working on free kicks within 10 yards on either side of the 50,” Murray said. “We wanted to get the ball into the mix, into a trouble spot, where we’ve got enough traffic for the goalkeeper and it makes it a mess for that guy. The ball got knocked down and Shane was in the right spot to finish it off.”
The Grizzlies nearly added another goal two minutes later when Troost took a nifty give-and-go pass and had a breakaway on Schober. But Troost didn’t get all of his shot from 20 yards out and Schober was able to scoop the ball for a clean save.
Shorecrest got the equalizer 41/2 minutes into the second half. The Scots, who had increased their pressure after halftime, worked the ball in front for two close-in attempts, the first requiring Weakly to make a point-blank save. But the second shot caromed right of the net, where freshman forward Henry Wingo had an open shot at the net and his right-footed try was true.
In the penalty kicks, Weakly made diving stops of Shorecrest’s first two tries. The third was good, but the fourth went over the crossbar.
“Andrew’s fantastic, isn’t he?” Murray said with a grin. “At the end of the day, I’ll take our chances when it gets to penalty kicks with him.”
The Grizzlies had the chance to win with Miller’s attempt, and he slipped it into the lower left corner of the goal, setting off a Glacier Peak celebration.
“I think the two best teams were in the final today,” Murray said. “On a given day you could flip a coin (to decide the outcome). But today was our day.”
The Grizzlies will open the state tournament at home on Tuesday against the No. 3 team from Seattle’s Metro League. The opponent will be determined on Saturday.
In the third place game, Mount Vernon scored twice in the game’s final 6 ½ minutes to defeat Shorewood 3-2 and claim the district’s third berth at the upcoming state tournament.
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