JJ Allen’s late goal sends Beamer to state quarterfinals

With 12 minutes left JJ Allen drew a penalty kick as Bothell defenders tripped him up in the box. After standing motionless for a moment a few paces behind the ball he charged up and blasted the ball past Bothell’s goalkeeper.

The Todd Beamer Titans (16-1-1) held on for the 2-1 victory and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 4A state tournament for the first time since 2011.

"It’s huge. It’s been a while for this program to be this far," Titans coach Joel Lindberg said. "We’re really excited to make the trip up to Kamiak and face those guys on Friday night."

Kamiak (12-5-2) blanked Olympia 4-0 to set up Friday’s match against the Titans.

Bothell struck first on a corner kick 10 minutes into the game. Cole Baker launched a high bending pass that Glan Herrera knocked past Titan goalkeeper Brandon Locke.

"Bothell came out really fast in that opening 20 minutes and we were a little bit on our heals. The nerves were showing a bit," Lindberg said. "But once we settled down even after their goal, we kept the ball well. Things shifted, we created a lot of chances."

With 19 minutes left in the first half Luke Gregg managed to get his head on a free kick by JJ Allen but it went high and wide.

Allen created another chance a few minutes later beating two defenders in midfield. Once he entered open space near the top of the box he blasted a shot that Bothell’s goalkeeper just managed to tip with one hand over the cross bar.

Then, in the last few seconds of the first half Zak Gregg shook a defender and slid the ball over to Malik Henry who chipped a shot over the goaltender into the far side of the net.

"I’ve been trying to score this whole season," Henry said of his first goal that couldn’t have come at a better time for the Titans. "I just thought I had to put it away so I took my chance and it happened to go in."

The Titans asserted themselves in the second half controlling the midfield and maintaining pressure on the Cougars defense.

Midway through the half Austin Stafford brought the ball up through the midfield with speed and found Zak Gregg streaking wide. Gregg hammered a low hard shot but Bothell’s goaltender cut down the angle and scooped it up.

Allen’s speed and skill on the ball gave Bothell problems throughout the game and helped the Titans generate attack after attack through the midfield.

"I saw JJ (Allen) with four guys on him stay calm. He never looked rattled," Lindberg said. "He had complete control of the ball, his eyes were up and he used the support of his team. Man, he’s just a great player and this kind of pressure didn’t phase him. He was able to shine tonight."

This story was originally published May 17, 2017 at 11:10 PM with the headline "JJ Allen’s late goal sends Beamer to state quarterfinals."