It was a big week for Mount Si Wildcats girls’ soccer as the Wildcats needed to win three straight loser-out games in order to return to the state tournament for the second straight year. Thanks to great efforts by many, Mount Si got it done.
Last Tuesday night, Oct. 31, was a cold, spooky Halloween night as the Wildcats served up a fright for their opponents, Newport. A solid Mount Si offensive attack scared the Knights defense and goalkeeper, and enabled the Wildcats to move on in the playoffs. Mount Si won 3-0, ending Newport’s season. The team’s top goal scorers all had a hand in this one: Amy Torget, Mariana Zanella and Nikki Stanton.
Torget scored on an empty net in the 32nd minute, while Zanella scored on a beautiful header off an equally wonderful pass from Monica Nelson in the 43rd minute. Stanton finished it off with an unassisted goal in the 68th minute.
Last Thursday, Nov. 2, the Wildcats welcomed Bellevue for the right to play off with the Metro League for a state berth, and in really ugly weather conditions, with driving rain and high winds, Mount Si fought off the elements and an aggressive Wolverines attack to post a 1-0 victory to send them to Seattle for the playoff game.
Mount Si’s lone goal was pretty nice After Bellevue narrowly missed scoring – their shot attempt in the 25th minute deflected both off the fingertips of Wildcat goalie Jessica Blessard and the crossbar – Mount Si’s offense came right back down the field. Torget fed the ball to Zanella and into the back of the net it went, past Bellevue’s goalkeeper Jenika Swanson.
“Amy and I have been working off each other really well this season and especially toward the end of the season, we’ve been really clicking, so I knew it was just a great ball by her and we set it up. It was set up at half field and I was just in the right place at the right time,” said Zanella, who reached double digits in goals (10) with the tally.
The game continued to be tight in the second half, but it became very physical, especially after a hard collision between Nelson and the Wolverines’ star player Megan Melby early in the half. Nelson was assessed a yellow card by officials and Melby left the field being helped off by several people. She appeared to be badly shaken up, and reportedly suffered a concussion. Melby did not return to the game. Later, officials assessed a second yellow card, this to Stanton, for another hard hit. Referees were busy calling fouls on both teams the rest of the contest.
The Wildcats traveled to Seattle’s Memorial Stadium last Saturday afternoon, Nov. 4, and faced off with the Metro League’s Holy Names Cougars for the right to go to state.
The game was pretty much all Mount Si as Zanella scored twice, and Stanton added a goal and assist each as the Wildcats made it to state with a convincing 3-1 win over the Cougars.
“We did good today. We came out in attack mode and that was the game plan and we took care of business,” said Mount Si coach Darren Brown.
The win, though, came at a potentially severe price. In the second half, Torget, attempting to get the ball away from the Holy Names keeper, got in a collision and suffered an injury. It is not clear as to what the injury is, but she had to be helped off the field.
Mount Si opens state play at Kennedy Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Lancers are former Seamount League rivals of the Wildcats, so expect Kennedy to give Mount Si a test. If the Wildcats win, they’ll be home for round two this weekend, just like last season when they played their hearts out in that 1-0 overtime loss to Camas.
League honors for eight
Wildcat starters
The Kingco 3A Conference announced its postseason honors for girls’ soccer and Mount Si was well represented. Leading the list are first teamers Blessard, Torget and Stanton. Joining that threesome are second-teamers Zanella and Katie Woolsey, while Nelson, Jessica Oliver and Kara Clearman each received honorable mentions. All of these players are starters for the Wildcats.
