EDMONDS — The Glacier Peak boys soccer team had numerous shots on the Meadowdale goal — and several that bounced off of it — throughout its game Tuesday night.
Finally, with a little luck, the Grizzlies got one to go in.
Alex Bergstrom collected a deflection on a save by the Meadowdale goalkeeper and put it into the back of the net to account for the game’s only goal as Glacier Peak handed the Mavericks their first loss of the season with a 1-0 Wesco 3A South win at Edmonds Stadium.
“Right place, right time,” said Glacier Peak head coach Kyle Veach. “What’s crazy about this game is we hit the post two, three, four times probably and had a lot of opportunities and etched out a 1-nil win. That’s the game. That’s what you play for. The boys were really ready — really excited.”
The game featured two of the top three teams in the conference with Glacier Peak, now 8-1-0 in league and 10-3-0 overall, tied with Shorecrest — 3-2 winners over Lynnwood Tuesday night — for first place. Right on those teams’ heels is Meadowdale (6-1-2, 8-1-4), which dropped its first contest of the season.
Glacier Peak’s only league loss this year was to Shorecrest, giving the Scots the advantage should the teams end the regular season tied.
“We’ve got a lot of good guys who are playing well and they were up for it tonight,” Veach said. “We knew what this game represents and so we wanted to make sure we were the dominant team. They played well and that’s all we asked them to do.”
Bergstrom made sure Glacier Peak kept pace with Shorecrest with the game-winning goal in the 45th minute. Grizzlies forward Riley Prescott sent a free kick into the box that made a beeline for Meadowdale goalkeeper Luke Lindgren — who had an impressive save on the shot.
However, Bergstrom followed the ricochet, collected Lindgren’s deflection and redirected it into the goal to give Glacier Peak the lead early in the second half.
Glacier Peak continued to attack in the second half, but Lindgren kept the ball out of the goal the rest of the way, including another impressive deflection for a save in the 50th minute that he sprung back up to collect just before Glacier Peak could score another goal almost the exact same way as its first.
“Meadowdale, they’ll bounce right back from this first loss and do just fine the rest of the year,” Veach said. “They’re a well-coached team and a very good side.”
Glacier Peak goalkeeper Sahm Noorfeshan had a few saves himself, clinching the third consecutive shutout for the Grizzlies. The streak has come in a run of seven straight victories for Glacier Peak, which hasn’t lost since falling to Shorecrest 2-1 on April 3.
“We definitely feel like we’ve hit a stride, but the boys don’t feel like we’ve fully peaked yet,” Veach said. “And that’s good. We’ve been able to learn and get better each night and kind of wrap our heads around getting three points at a time, getting better and learning from each match.”
The Grizzlies are still hoping to come away with a league title. Glacier Peak finishes the season with games against Edmonds-Woodway, Shorewood and Everett while Shorecrest takes on Stanwood, Meadowdale and Mountlake Terrace.
Regardless of who finishes on top between the two teams, Glacier Peak is looking to get the league’s No. 1 seed in the 3A District 1 tournament. Shorecrest, a 2A school, will claim a berth in the 2A district bracket.
Meadowdale, Shorewood (7-2-0, 8-3-2) and Edmonds-Woodway (6-2-1, 8-3-2) await should Glacier Peak or Shorecrest falter late in the season.
“We absolutely want it,” Veach said of the league title. “Shorecrest, being a 2A team, they go over to the 2A playoff system and that means we’d get the (3A District 1 tournament’s) No. 1 seed. We set out with a goal of being the No. 1 seed. Even if we end up tied with them it’s not ideal, but it ultimately gives us a No. 1 and it puts us in the district tournament. That’s really important to us, playing at home throughout the playoffs.
“So these next three matches against Edmonds-Woodway, Shorewood and Everett are the most important, getting three points each night.”
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