ELMA — Elma’s Alicia Hook brought Saturday’s Evergreen 2A/1A League girls soccer playoff game to a dramatic finish at Davis Field.
Tied at 2-2, Hook ran onto a long ball that beat Hoquiam’s defense and poke it into the lower left corner for the game-winning goal to give the Eagles a 3-2 victory.
The win sends Elma (7-9) into the District IV 1A tournament, where it’ll travel to Vancouver to take on King’s Way Christian in the opening round. For Hoquiam, its season came to an end at 7-10 overall.
“That was an epic game,” Elma head coach Scott Rockey said. “I am really glad we were able to end it before we got into overtime. We handled the ball well and shot the ball well. We’re riding the momentum wave right now, starting with Eatonville, which fed into Aberdeen and beyond. The girls are improving and working way better than they did to start the season.”
“It was a good game,” HHS head coach Corri Schmid said. “Both teams wanted it, played strong. There were times when they’d have runs and we’d have runs. Today, the girls stepped up and played like the team they know they are. They fought to the very last second. This is a tough loss.”
Hook took advantage of a well-placed long ball to give Elma the game-winner.
A desperation long throw-in by senior Natalie Grant toward Hoquiam’s goal sent Hook down the left side and in between two Hoquiam (7-10) defenders. She caught up to the ball and poked it into the near-left corner past Hoquiam goalkeeper Jenna Doll for the goal in the 80th minute.
With one extra minute in play, Hoquiam made one last push for a game-tying goal, but time ran out.
Tightly contested and evenly played, this match was tense for both teams, who tied for third place in the regular-season standings to bring this one-match playoff into account.
After a free-flowing start to the match, which saw both teams create chances in the opening 10 minutes, Hook knocked in the first goal of the match.
In the 15th minute, Hook controlled a loose ball 35 yards out from goal. Hoquiam goalkeeper Jenna Doll was off her goal line and Hook lofted a shot over her into the net for the marker.
Following the goal, both teams kept attacking. Elma’s Grant and Tawni Heller were each called for offsides on potential goal scoring chances, while Hoquiam’s Ellie Quercia, Judy Renteria and Alexis Wonderly had shots from long range go wide and over.
“I’m definitely going to talk to (Grant and Heller) about checking back sooner,” Rockey said. “We missed so many opportunities, because of that.”
Grant nearly made it 2-0 in the final minute of the first half when she outran Hoquiam’s Brittoni Wright for a long ball. With two steps, Grant shot for goal, but Doll made a diving save to her right to deny it.
Hoquiam responded at the stroke of halftime when Renteria’s 20-yard shot went just over the crossbar.
After halftime, the Grizzlies relied upon their top scorer, Quercia, to take control.
In the 52nd minute, Hoquiam won a free kick 30 yards from goal on the right side. Quercia took the kick, sending a hard, placed shot over Elma goalkeeper Maci Shumate for the marker.
Both teams pushed back after the tying goal before Quercia weaved through Elma’s defense on a potential scoring run and was fouled inside the penalty area. The center official pointed immediately for the penalty kick, which Quercia converted with a howitzer shot into the left side of the goal in the 64th minute.
Hoquiam’s lead didn’t last long. Grant was finally able to connect on a long ball, this time from Maddy Moore from midfield, for a goal in the 67th minute. This time, Grant had time and space to pin-point her shot just inside the right post past Doll for the marker.
The play of the match slowed at the end of regulation, with both teams weary of giving up a game-winner at the end. However, it just built up the drama before Grant’s throw-in and Hook’s conversion.
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