Montesano had high hopes entering the weekend’s final four of the 1A State Girls Soccer Tournament.
After the semifinal round, the best the Bulldogs can hope for is third place.
Deer Park dominated the field of play in handing Montesano a 5-1 loss on Friday at Shoreline Stadium, dashing the Bulldogs hopes of the program’s first state championship in the process.
“They were the best team we’ve played all year,” Montesano head coach Fidel Sanchez said of Deer Park, which controlled the midfield and created the vast majority of scoring opportunities in the game.
One of those scoring opportunities came in the opening minute.
Deer Park standout and Oregon commit Livvy Moore gained possession just across the Stags’ side of midfield. The senior midfielder quickly drove through the right side of the Montesano end, cut to her left, pushed the ball across the width of the field — avoiding multiple Monte defenders in the process — and ripped a shot to the far post past diving Monte goal keeper Riley Timmons for an early 1-0 lead.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Deer Park midfielder Livvy Moore (18) and Montesano forward Mikayla Stanfield (10) compete for possession during the Montesano’s 5-1 loss in the 1A State Girls Soccer Tournament semifinals on Friday at Shoreline Stadium in Shoreline.
“We talked about it during the week. We talked about it during film (sessions). We talked about it when we gave (the team) the scouting report. She’s an Oregon commit. She can play. She can shoot. Don’t let her shoot,” Sanchez said. “And guess what we do? We let her shoot. … I’m a little disapointed in that because we could do better. We did not do well to start the game and you can not chase a game against a team like that.”
Deer Park (19-1 overall) doubled its lead when a corner kick deflected off two players before the Stags’ Brooklyn Dryden got it across the line for a 2-0 lead in the 22nd minute.
Montesano (17-3) held off the prolific Stags offense — which featured determined ball pressure, speed in the front end and skilled, crisp touches when in possession — for the remainder of the first half to keep the score within striking distance.
After multiple Deer Park saves were either off target or swallowed up by Timmons over the final 17-plus minutes of the half, Montesano’s Jaiden Morrison gave the Bulldogs some life.
The senior midfielder/forward took a feed from sophomore midfielder Bethanie Henderson, used some nifty footwork to create some space as several Stags defenders converged, turned and blasted a shot that got over the outstretched arm of Stags keeper Hannah Krantz for a goal in stoppage time.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano midfielder/forward Jaiden Morrison, third from left, is congratulated by her teammates after scoring a goal just before halftime in a 5-1 loss to Deer Park in a 1A State Girls Soccer Tournament semifinal game on Friday in Shoreline.
“I was hoping that goal would get us going forward and get us to a point where we would be competitive,” Sanchez said. “Then we went down 3-1 and we were scratching our heads.”
Just six minutes into the second half, Deer Park’s speed paid dividends once again when junior forward Ella Carnahan streaked down the wing then sent a cross toward the front of the Monte net. Stags junior Grace Martinson finished the play to put Deer Park up 3-1.
The Stags would go up 4-1 on when Martinson blocked a Monte clearance attempt into the net in the 75th minute and — after Monte cleared its entire bench with two minutes to go — Moore would add another in stoppage time for the 5-1 final.
“It’s one of those things where we have to adapt to the environment,” Sanchez said. “This is the first time we’ve been here and I think that really factored here in all that we were doing. It’s just experience and the good thing is we are here and we know what it is like to play in a semifinal and we are going to take that experience and keep building the program to where it needs to be.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Jaiden King, left, is defended by Deer Park’s Andrea Snell during the Bulldogs’ 5-1 loss in the 1A State Girls Soccer Tournament semifinals on Friday at Shoreline Stadium in Shoreline.
Montesano, the No. 7 seed, will face off against No. 1 Klahowya, which was previously undefeated until the Eagles lost 3-2 in overtime to No. 4 Seattle Academy in the state’s other semifinal matchup.
The two teams will face off at 11 a.m. Saturday, with a shot at third place and ending the season with a victory.
“We have to make sure we are on the right mindset. We are still playing a potential final team. Tomorrow is another tough opponent,” Sanchez said. “Can we finish the season with a win? That is what we want to do. We’re still going to play a tough opponent and we have to be ready for that. Our girls know that. We are going to get them ready and kind of let them forget about this game and focus on the next one, that is all we can do.”
Deer Park 2 3 — 5
Montesano 1 0 — 1
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Scoring Summary
First Half — Deer Park 1, Moore 45, 1st minute. 2, Deer Park, Dryden, 22nd minute. 3, Montesano, Morrison 22 (assist Henderson), stoppage time.
Second Half — 4, Deer Park, Martinson, 46th minute. 5, Deer Park, Martinson, 75th minute. 6, Deer Park, Moore, stoppage time.
Sportsmanship Awards — Timmons, Montesano; Moore, Deer Park.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano forward Anabelle Estrada (27) moves the ball away from Deer Park midfielder Alayna Demir during the Bulldogs’ 5-1 loss in the 1A State Girls Soccer Tournament semifinals on Friday at Shoreline Stadium in Shoreline.
