4A/3A soccer state championships: West Valley girls overcome Gonzaga Prep in penalty shootout
Defense wins championships.
Well, not yet. But a physically dominant defense was enough to give the West Valley of Yakima girls a chance at the trophy during a cold, frosty night at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.
After a 0-0 draw through stoppage time, the semifinal match between the undefeated Rams (18-0-1) and Gonzaga Prep (17-4) went to an overtime period — two to be exact. With the score still knotted, West Valley sealed it during a shootout round, outscoring the Bullpups 5-4 to win their Class 4A state semifinal.
The Bullpups controlled the game offensively for the majority of the match, outshooting the Rams 11-2.
The game was physical, with both teams taking and giving some knocks. Tough defense has been the Rams’ calling card this season: They have not allowed a goal in 498 minutes.
The Rams placed all hopes on their freshman goalkeeper Jada Stevenson. No pressure, right?
During the shootout both teams swapped goals until the very last kick. Junior Bullpups defender Mia Padon set up and aimed to hit the bottom right corner of the goal, but Stevenson jumped the kick and sealed the game as the Rams’ sideline erupted in celebration.
“I tried not to let a goal in,” said Stevenson, “I let a couple go, but the last one I was trying to get in her (Padon’s) head by moving back and forth, side to side.”
It must have worked.
“Gonzaga Prep is tough, well-coached and disciplined,” said West Valley head coach Billy Barmes. “We were scrambling the entire game.
“We have some battle-tested seniors; they’ve only lost seven games since they were freshmen.”
Issaquah 1, Camas 0 (PK, 3-2): With defenses this strong, it should have been obvious that two overtime periods wouldn’t be enough time to decide this match. The Eagles (16-2-2) took the Papermakers (19-2-1) to a shootout and won, 3-2. Issaquah advances to face West Valley in the state championship, which will be held at Sparks Stadium at 4 p.m. Saturday. Camas will face Gonzaga Prep in a battle for third place at noon.
CLASS 3A
Seattle Prep 2, Edmonds-Woodway 1: The No. 1-ranked Panthers (21-0-1) proved their dominance against the Warriors (18-2-2) with some tough-minded defensive play. Senior midfielder Jalen Woodward nailed a PK in the 10th minute, and sophomore midfielder Sophie Hirst pitched in with a breakaway goal, torching the defense to got through and score in the 16th minute.
Seattle Prep goes on to the state championship and will face Southridge of Kennewick at 2 p.m. Saturday at Sparks Stadium.
Southridge 1, Arlington 0: The matchup between the Suns (20-2) and the Eagles (17-5) was exactly what was expected to be — a low-scoring affair. Haley Thomas broke the deadlock when she launched a free kick from the right sideline toward the center, finding junior defender Kendall Pope set up 8-yards out for the game’s only goal.
The Eagles move on the play for third place against last year’s state champion, Edmonds-Woodway, at 10 a.m. Saturday at Sparks Stadium.
This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 10:55 PM with the headline "4A/3A soccer state championships: West Valley girls overcome Gonzaga Prep in penalty shootout."