SHORELINE — Earlier in the season Shorecrest’s Chris Iacolucci scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Marysville Pilchuck.
In Tuesday’s 3A district tournament semifinals, Iacolucci did it again and this time his goal and the 1-0 victory over the Tomahawks sent the Scots to state.
“We’re happy to get back to state,” Shorecrest head coach Drew Thompson said. “We’re always happy to get to state. Last year was a tough way in. We lost in the first round of this tournament, so we had to play several games to get in. This year we did it the way we’re supposed to do it and that’s win the first couple (of games) and now we’ve got the opportunity to play for district championship.”
The Scots went on to place second in the 3A state tournament a year ago.
Iacolucci, who scored on a free kick against the Tomahawks earlier this season, controlled a pass from Alex Day in the 19th minute and beat Marysville Pilchuck goalkeeper Ryan Spiva for the goal.
“Alex played him a nice ball and Chris got in and put it away,” Thompson said. “It was a nice goal. Chris has been doing it all year for us.”
Just as important as Iacolucci’s goal was Shorecrest’s defense, which not only held the Tomahawks scoreless, but allowed very few scoring chances in the game, especially the first half.
“(It was) a game of two halves,” Thompson said. “I thought we played very well in the first half. Marysville Pilchuck – give it some credit – they came out strong in that second half and really had us on our heels for most of that second half. We were just able to defend and keep (the Tomahawks) out of our net.”
Tomahawks head coach Paul Bartley said his team needed to be more aggressive with its scoring chances.
“People didn’t take shots when they had opportunities to,” Bartley said. “Their defense drops really well. We created more shots for ourselves in the second half we just didn’t convert on them.”
After the loss, the Tomahawks will have to win the next two games to advance to state. They host a loser-out game on Thursday.
“They’re down now, but we’ll bounce back,” Bartley said. “Thursday, whoever we get to play, it’s going to be a game.”
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
At Shoreline Stadium
Goals–Chris Iacolucci (S). Assists–Alex Day (S). Goalkeepers–Shorecrest: Christian Gribsvad. Marysville Pilchuck: Ryan Spiva (first half), Kole Bradley-Kuk (second half). Records–Shorecrest 14-3-0 overall, Marysville Pilchuck 9-8-0.
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