Saints fall on last shot of shootout, Totems have date at the Doc | Soccer state playoff recaps

Interlake matched Lynden throughout the game, but finally fell on the fifth and final penalty round 2-1. Sammamish had no such trouble with the Lancers from Kennedy Catholic, dispatching of them easily in a 5-1 match.

By Josh Suman • May 18, 2011 2:09 pm
The Saints and Lions struggled with one another for a full 90 minutes plus all five penalty rounds before a winner was crowned
The Saints and Lions struggled with one another for a full 90 minutes plus all five penalty rounds before a winner was crowned

It was as close as a soccer match could be.

Interlake and Lynden engaged in a seesaw battle for a full 90 minutes before finally deciding the result in the final round of a shootout, as the Lions moved into the 2A state quarterfinals with a 2-1 victory.

The two remained deadlocked in a scoreless tie throughout the first half, with Interlake carrying the pace slightly and creating opportunities in the seventh, 25th and 37th minutes. The Saints watched in agony as shots drifted just wide of the net, clanged off the post or just skimmed off the foot of an attacker. They also were forced to contend with the fearless and scrappy play of Lynden keeper Luis Gutierrez, who made several heady plays to reach would-be goals.

The Lions had their opportunities in the first half as well and took control during the latter part of the half and into the second. Senior Mitch Stevenson finally got them off and running in the 50th minute when he redirected a corner kick, sticking it into the bottom right corner of the net to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Gutierrez and the Lynden defense made that hold up until the Saints parlayed a side throw-in into a melee in the box and eventually a high touch from sophomore Nate Lafavour that ended up sneaking past Gutierrez for the equalizer.

From there things tightened even further, neither team willing to relax on defense or overly extend themselves on the attack. The Saints had their most promising chance in the 66th minute when a Nick Roth shot found the post, but was unable to back into the net.

The Lions appeared to have clear paths to a goal on two occasions in the final ten minutes, but Saints keeper Alex Quintana foiled their efforts with superb saves to keep his team alive.

After two scoreless five-minute overtime periods, things were still knotted at one prompting a shootout.

Gutierrez made the play of the game in the second penalty kick round, diving to his left and punching away a high attempt to give his team the slightest of margins. “We kind of had it scouted out,” Gutierrez said of his key save.

All of the other nine participants netted their penalty shots, with the fatal strike coming from the same player who laid down the first, Lynden’s Mitch Stevenson. The goal sent the Lions into a frenzy and more importantly, into the quarterfinal round of the 2A state tournament.

Interlake coach Dan Peterson said postgame he was exceptionally proud of his team’s effort, noting that the game was “absolutely as close as a game can be.”

Interlake sees their season end at the state tournament for the third consecutive season, a remarkable accomplishment for a program that had not previously been on Washington’s biggest stage since a run of four straight 4A appearances that ended in 1989.

It also ends the careers of seniors Young Choi, Eric Ritter, Quintana, Daniel Masin, Derek Tsang, Devin Perez, Alexis Teofilo, Christian Rodriguez and Ben Titus.

Peterson had a short and direct message for his team after the heart wrenching defeat.

“I just told them how proud of them I was,” he said. “We gave ourselves a chance to win and it just didn’t happen this time.”

Game Notes

Both teams had one player receive a yellow card, Interlake’s Miguel Castillo in the first half and Lynden’s Sebastian Kent in the 57th minute of the game…Last night was the first time in their history the Saints hosted a state playoff game. Their other appearances included trips to Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Bellingham and Vancouver.

Sammamish overwhelms Kennedy Catholic, onto quarters

The Totems blew past the Lancers in their opening round 3A state playoff match, earning a 5-1 win and a spot in the quarterfinal round.

Taylor Berg got things started in the tenth minute when he got his foot on a rebound for a 1-0 Sammamish lead. Berg assisted Dauda Sanoh three minutes later to put the Totems ahead by a pair.

Nick Rooney and Beau Blanchard added goals again in short proximity in the second half, with Rooney scoring unassisted in the 42nd minute and Blanchard receiving Berg’s second assist of the night in the 46th to extend the Sammamish lead to 4-1.

Berg found the net for his second goal of the night to close the scoring off an assist from Rooney, who received the ball on a purposed touch from Stephen Perkins.

The win pushes the Totems into the quarterfinal round of the 3A state tournament, where they will meet Camas High School on Saturday at Doc Harris Stadium.

The 17-1 Papermakers controlled highly-touted Shorecrest throughout in a 3-0 opening round win.