Gig Harbor scores first, but can’t fend off Seattle Prep rally in 2-1 state semifinal loss
It wasn’t supposed to end here.
The run wasn’t over. The dream not quite complete.
And the Gig Harbor Tides do still have 80 more minutes of soccer to play, in a rematch with Holy Names Academy on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. After Seattle Prep came from behind to hand the Tides their first loss of the season, 2-1, in the Class 3A state girls soccer semifinals on Friday evening, those minutes just won’t be for another state title.
“We definitely saw this team as a state championship team,” senior midfielder Ella Hatteberg said. “That was our goal the whole entire season. We left it all out there today, but I definitely think if it was five more minutes, we could have pulled through.”
The top-seeded Tides (19-1-1) were looking for a second title in the last three played. These seniors were freshmen on the 2018 squad that went 23-0 and beat the Cougars to win the championship. Saturday’s game at Sparks Stadium will be for third place.
“It is a quick turnaround, but they’re resilient,” Gig Harbor coach Katie Bennett said. “Now, technically, the third and fourth is a repeat of the 2018 title. It’ll be a great game again. Holy Names is a great side and we know what we need to do. They’ll be ready. Our seniors want to go out and finish their legacy that they’ve started.”
The final at 5 p.m. will be an all-Metro League affair with the Panthers (9-5-3) facing third-seeded Lakeside. After Gig Harbor’s win in 2018, Lake Washington took the 3A title in 2019.
The 2020 post-season did not happen due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Tides also finished as the runner-up in four of five seasons from 1992-1996.
The Tides got the goal in the 19th minute that it looked like, for much of the game, would catapult them into the championship game.
Alexa Thoms lined up and delivered a soft curling ball on a corner kick from the left side. The ball crossed to the back side of the goal, where Ella Hatteberg put a head to it, driving it back toward the upper left corner of the goal.
The shot hit the net under the crossbar for the 1-0 lead at 18:54. Gig Harbor let the defense dictate play for most of the way after that, giving up only one decent chance – a long crossing pass to a streaking player off the wing in the box that missed the Panther player’s head attempt and continued harmlessly out of bounds for a goal kick.
“I kind of just was in the perfect spot,” Hatteberg said. “No one was marking me. We practice that every single day. You just have to leave it all out there.”
Seattle Prep first appeared to have tied the game in the 53rd minute. The Panthers built the threat down the right side and fed a pass back to the center, where Kiera Heim slid the ball under an on-rushing Tides goalie Jordan Flaherty and into the net.
However, the off-sides flag was up and the goal was disallowed. Heim had a second chance just four minutes later, but Flaherty beat the ball and poked it off the line outside the right post.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Bennett said. “Seattle Prep is a great team, and they play great competition all year long. I told my girls, this is the first game we’ve lost all year. It sucked, but our team, they’re family. They all work hard.
Heim finally tied it at 1-1 in the 58th minute with a nifty shot that got by Flaherty.
“They made changes,” Bennett said. “They pushed numbers forward. We kept playing our game, but we were out-matched in that attack.”
Seattle Prep continued to press forward.
In the 74th minute, the Panthers built another threat. Finally, Jayce Woodward settled the ball on the right side at the top of the 18-yard box. She took two quick touches across toward the left, turned and whipped a low shot past Flaherty for what became the game-winner.
Lakeside 1, Holy Names 1 (4-2 in shootout)
In the rubber match of an eventful season series that was 1-1-1 entering the state semifinal match, Hannah Dickinson ended the game on the fourth shootout shot when she moved right and saved the shot by Arriannah King. Dickinson’s save was the clincher after Cougars midfielder Samantha Caragher missed her attempt at No. 3 wide left.
Kara Overnell punched home the rebound of a shot that pinged off the left post in the 27th minute to put the Lions in front. Reese Ruegamer’s goal out of a scrum in front of the goal-mouth in the 76th minute tied it at 1-1 for Holy Names and sent the game into overtime.