EVERETT — The Snohomish boys soccer team had eight corner kicks in Thursday’s 4A District 1 championship game, but none more important than the final one.
With time being kept on the field and no more than a minute to play, Snohomish freshman Hal Uderitz headed in a corner kick from sophomore Colman French for what turned out to be the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over Kamiak.
“It was a great feeling,” Uderitz said. “Just to score the game-winning goal with no time left, it’s just the best feeling. It’s only my third goal of the season, so hopefully I’ll have more.”
The goal happened so quickly that Snohomish head coach Dan Pingrey didn’t even see it, but that didn’t stop him from celebrating.
“I was asking who scored because all I saw was the ball go in the net,” Pingrey said. “I had no idea who hit it or anything else. That’s exciting stuff.”
The defending state champion Panthers are the district champions, while Kamiak has to play Mount Vernon in a winner-to-state/loser out game on Saturday.
Both teams had a lot of chances, but Thursday’s championship game remained scoreless until the 64th minute. Kamiak senior Garrett Peterson fired a left-footed shot from about 25 yards into the left side of the net on an assist from junior Eric Koegler to give his team a 1-0 lead.
“He put a laser shot into the side netting,” Kamiak head coach Kosta Pitaroulis said. “The goalie didn’t have a chance. He hit really hard and just in a straight line. It was beautiful.”
The way the game had gone it seemed the goal might hold up, but Pingrey made all the right moves in the final 16 minutes. Snohomish changed formations four times and it paid off with two goals and the win.
“Every time we switched we ended up getting a goal out of it, so it worked,” Pingrey said. “But we literally played four different formations just to adjust, but it was fun and it made them have to adjust.”
Snohomish’s first goal came in the 72nd minute when sophomore Jason Fairhurst scored off of a throw in by senior Blake Crutchfield. The goal seemed to take a little pressure off the Panthers, who continued to push as time ticked down.
The game appeared headed to overtime when the Panthers capitalized on their final corner kick.
Both goalkeepers, Snohomish senior Alex Fairhurst and Kamiak senior Tristan Bratvold played well throughout the game and made key saves. Bratvold had six and Fairhurst finished with four.
Fairhurst has split time with junior Cameron Beardsley in goal most of the season, but Fairhurst has played the entirety of the last two games.
“He’s been great,” PIngrey said. “He’s stepped up. He’s fantastic and the guys love him because nothing fazes him.”
Pingrey was particularly happy to see his team bounce back after getting falling behind late in the game.
“After we got that goal scored against us they stepped up like a champion,” Pingrey said. “If you’re going to be a champion, you’ve got to and they stepped up. I’m proud of them. It was fun.”
Pitharoulis has the challenge of getting his team prepared to play a game against Mount Vernon on Saturday that it must win. The Knights have defeated the Bulldogs in each of their two meeting this season.
“We’ve had good success against Mount Vernon this season,” Pitharoulis said. “Mount Vernon is coming off a win and they’re very excited and we have to come off of a loss…It’s hard to beat a team for the third time.”
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