Relentless to the end: Shutout victory, then sudden end for Mount Si girls soccer in league tourney

The Mount Si girls soccer team put the pressure on Newport to claim their last home win, against Newport in the first round of the Kingco 4A league tournament.

Wildcat players pumped shot after shot at the Knight goalie, with opportunities by Mackenzie Popp, KK Wallace, Karli White, Jane Livingston among the tally Tuesday, Oct. 30.

Sydney Tomlinson had held the Wildcats off the entirety of the first half, but given the Mount Si pressure, sooner or later, one was getting through. Cue White, Mount Si’s energetic forward and senior co-captain, who laced one in from the middle about 15 minutes into the half.

“The way to beat them is to outwork them,” said senior midfielder Karlie Hurley, a fast athlete who runs track in the offseason, and who was cruising Thursday on the pitch.

“We were just working hard,” added Hurley, who had the feed to White.

“That was a nice assist, a great ball,” said White.

White is tied with Nikki Stanton for most goals by a Mount Si girls soccer player. “I wanted to make a mark my last year of high school,” she said. “I’m doing my best, but I also want to be a team player.”

The final goal came late in the game, when Hurley fired a cross to freshman Miranda Fisher, an up-and-coming Mount Si offensive force, who put it in.

After the game, the announcer gave credit for Tomlinson’s performance, a good 20 shots saved for Mount Si’s two goals. The final score was 2-0.

Mount Si goalie Nellie Joselyn made a leaping save with about 17 minutes to go on a Newport attempt, but mostly had it easy. Thursday was another shut-out under her belt for the junior.

“Ten shutouts—the most in Mount Si history,” Joselyn said. But she gives credit where it’s due.

“My defense did it all tonight. I don’t have to do much at all. You’ve gotta love them for it,” Joselyn said. “Their keeper put on a great show. I clap my hands to her.”

Coach Darren Brown credited the entire Wildcat defense as his players of the match, with respect to White and Fisher.

“The back line did a great job tonight… very fundamentally sound all 80 minutes,” stated Brown in his after-game report. “Solid distribution and runs into the attacking third,” or the part of the field nearest the opposing goal. He singled out Johnson, Camryn Buck, Mia Fowler, Kelsey Willard and Bella DiDomenico for defensive praise. “Mission accomplished. The midfield play picked up the intensity in the last 40 and settled nicely.”

“It was a must-win, so we knew we had to give it our all,” said senior KK Wallace. “When we give it our all, we’re a good team, and we do good things.”

“We knew, if we came out like we did in the first game,” Mount Si’s 1-0 win over Newport October 2, “and hit our shots on target, like we did, we were going to win,” added Claire Johnson.

“We had to come in hard from the beginning,” White said. “We had to scare them early. We put the pressure on them, and followed through the whole game.”

Mount Si played in a downpour Thursday.

“The rain gives it a more intense vibe,” Johnson said. The ball moved faster, but was more slippery, affecting both teams. A drier night might have meant more goals.

Mount Si’s season came to a sudden end Monday, Nov. 3, vs. the Woodinville Falcons at Issaquah High School.

The Wildcats fell, 2-0, in the must-win second round of the league championships. The third-seeded ‘Cats faced the fourth-ranked Woodinville Falcons.

Mount Si had strong hopes going into the contest.

“It’ll be interesting to see how it goes,” Joselyn said. “We’ve come up against some tough competition a couple of times. But next time we see them, we’ll have it.”

Mount Si ended the season at now 11-5-1.

Follow the team at http://www.mshsgirlssoccer.com