Jennifer Johnson’s first goal of the season came at the right time for Montesano.
Johnson’s conversion on the final round of penalty kicks enabled the unbeaten Bulldogs to complete a 0-0 (3-1) shootout victory over Aberdeen in an Evergreen 2A/1A League championship girls soccer showdown Saturday at rainy, blustery Stewart Field.
The victory enabled Montesano — a team with only one senior on the varsity — to clinch the undisputed league title. The Bulldogs (13-0, 15-0) had long since secured the league’s top-seeded district 1A berth.
The loss will have no impact on Aberdeen’s postseason plans. The Bobcats (11-2, 12-3) were already assured of a date at Centralia on Thursday for a district 2A qualifying contest.
Six days before Halloween, Saturday’s game was played in conditions traditionally associated with a Gothic horror movie. Heavy rain fell throughout and was accompanied by a strong, gusty wind. Stewart Field’s synthetic turf kept the field playable, but standing water had begun to form by the time the varsity match ended.
Montesano’s Makenzi Howard, Samantha Stanfield and Johnson scored in the shootout to trump Aberdeen’s lone conversion, by Mackenzie Arnold.
The Bulldog MVP, however, may well have been freshman goalkeeper Haylee Perkinson, who turned away several Bobcat threats in the second half and overtime.
“Haylee is a tough kid,” Monte coach Mike Malpass said. “She’s motivated. She wants to be the best goalkeeper around and most of the time is totally reliable.”
Perkinson’s biggest save came in the shootout.
After Montesano’s Tiana Schurr shot wide on the first set of spot kicks, Perkinson dove to her right to swat away Ericka Manwell’s on-target attempt.
When Howard banked one off the top crossbar and into the net and Aberdeen’s Amanda Bradt shot high in the second round, there was a sense that the momentum had swung in Montesano’s direction.
Stanfield and Arnold each scored on the third round. A miss by Monte’s Taylor Birdsall gave the Bobcats an opportunity to tie it, but Brianna Ashlock’s shot sailed wide to the right.
That gave Johnson, a junior defender who takes most of her team’s goal kicks and long free kicks, an opportunity to provide the Bulldogs with an insurmountable lead. Bobcat goalkeeper Kayla Arnold guessed correctly by diving to her left, but Johnson’s low shot glanced off her hands and into the net.
The first half of regulation was evenly played, with Aberdeen enjoying an advantage in time of possession but Montesano having the edge in scoring chances.
The dynamics of the match drastically changed in the second half. With the wind at their backs, the Bobcats outshot the Bulldogs 10-3, although many of their attempts were easily handled by Perkinson.
“We took advantage (of the wind),” AHS coach Fidel Sanchez noted. “We had some nice crosses, we just couldn’t connect at the end.”
The Bobcats nearly won it in dramatic fashion in the final minute of regulation. Tayler Housden crossed a pass to a wide-open Manwell, but the latter’s shot from 10 yards out was high.
In the first minute of the second OT, Housden blocked a Bulldog clearing pass and poked the ball past Perkinson, who had come out of the net. By the time she reached the loose ball, however, Housden was at a nearly impossible angle and her attempt slammed into the side netting.
Monte’s best scoring chance came in the 35th minute. Birdsall broke free from the right wing, but Kayla Arnold came out of the net to cut down the angle forced a shot that missed wide.
“I’m just glad we played better than the first time we played them (a 2-0 Montesano win at Rottle Field)” Sanchez concluded. “We didn’t play our best game up there.”
Johnson was praised by Malpass for her all-around performance.
Sanchez cited midfielder Mackenzie Arnold and defenders Bradt and Sophie Hillebrant. The Bobcats chose to focus their defensive efforts on Birdsall and Schurr rather than high-scoring freshman forward Stanfield.
Both teams will conclude league play on the road tonight. The Bulldogs visit Rochester, while the Bobcats travel to Tenino.
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