BELLINGHAM – Teams that have won only one game in four years aren’t supposed to win district tournament contests.
Don’t try telling that to the Arlington Eagles, however.
Arlington, whose combined record from 2003 to 2006 was 1-58-3, won its fifth and biggest victory of 2007 Saturday, upsetting Squalicum 2-1 at Whatcom Community College in the first-round of the 3A District 1 playoffs.
Arlington (5-11-1) advanced to the semifinals and plays Shorecrest at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Shoreline Stadium. Squalicum was eliminated.
“I would say this is our biggest win because it allows us to keep going,” said fourth-year Arlington coach Mike Gudgeon.
“The biggest thing we’ve had to overcome is to realize that our talent and win-loss record haven’t matched,” Gudgeon added. “The guys have come upon a winning attitude. When we play someone now, it isn’t a foregone conclusion who the winner will be.
“We create our own luck and the harder we work, the luckier we become.”
Adversity hit Arlington immediately as Squalicum scored in the game’s second minute. But the Eagles came back on goals by Jake Smith and John Tilton.
“It was the first time this season we’ve come back from being behind,” Gudgeon said.
In Shorecrest, Arlington faces another Goliath. The Scots are unbeaten and ranked third in the nation in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.
“We can’t worry about who we’re playing,” Gudgeon said. “We have to go out and play our game. If we play our game to the best of our ability, we’ll give ourselves every chance to win.
“The guys know who we’re probably playing, but they’re not worried about it. We got a huge confidence boost from beating Lake Stevens. There’s no team we’re afraid of right now.”
At Whatcom CC
Goals-Arlington: Smith, Tilton. Squalicum: Alcala. Goalkeepers-Arlington: Bayer. Squalicum: Keller. Records-Arlington 5-11-1 overall.
Shorecrest 5, Sedro-Woolley 0: At Shoreline, Elliot Richards, Jake Mason and Teddy Wingo all had one goal and one assist for Shorecrest, which moved on in the 3A District 1 tournament. The Scots face Arlington Tuesday.
At Shoreline Stadium
Goals-Shorecrest: Richards, Ehrhart, Wingo, Rudnick, Mason. Assists-Shorecrest: Mason, Richards, Cho, Wingo. Goalkeepers-Sedro-Woolley: Vancleeve. Shorecrest: McDonald. Records-Sedro-Woolley not reported. Shorecrest 16-0-1.
Ferndale 2, Meadowdale 1: At Edmonds, the Golden Eagles, the third seed from the Northwest Conference, upset Meadowdale in a first-round, loser-out 3A District 1 tournament game, ousting the Wesco’s No. 2 seed.
Cedarcrest 1, Archbishop Murphy 0: At Duvall, Heath Olson scored the lone goal of the game early in the seventh minute off an assist by RJ Sorenson and Cedarcrest held on the rest of the way to defeat Archbishop Murphy in the first round of the 2A District 1 tournament. Cedarcrest plays Sehome, a 4-0 winner over Lakewood, in Tuesday’s semifinals.
At Cedarcrest H.S.
Goals-Cedarcrest: Olson. Assists-Cedarcrest: Sorenson. Goalkeepers-Archbishop Murphy: Ehlebracht, Renslo. Cedarcrest: Long. Records-Archbishop Murphy 8-10 overall. Cedarcrest 14-3.
Sultan 2, Anacortes 1: At Sultan, in an emotional game, Paul Brems and AJ Clarke each scored goals in the second half to lead Sultan to the win in a 2A District 1 tournament game. The Turks dedicated the game to Genevieve Jelinek, a Sultan resident who died in a car accident on Wednesday. Jelinek’s two sons served as the referees and the Sultan team presented her husband with the game ball signed by the team. Sultan plays Bellingham, a 3-1 winner over Granite Falls, in Tuesday’s semifinals.
At Sultan H.S.
Goals-Anacortes: Sortun. Sultan: Brems, Clarke. Assists-Sultan: Davison, Olson. Goalkeepers-Anacortes: Tompson. Sultan: Gonzalez, Randall. Records-Anacortes not reported. Sultan 13-4 overall.
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