MARYSVILLE With an arching kick to the upper corner of the Cascade goal, it looked like M-P might knock off the one-loss Bruin soccer team that sits atop the conference rankings.
With just under eight minutes left in the first half, sophomore midfielder Brady Ballew knocked in the goal that broke the 32-minute stalemate between conference rivals.
But with a goal of their own right out of halftime, Cascade forced overtime, where they pulled off the 2-1 win at Quil Ceda Stadium, March 28.
While coach Geoff Kittle had only positive things to say about the teams effort, he speculated that the loss boiled down to playing Cascades kind of game.
They really got into this launch-the-ball forward, run-after-it kind of thing. We didnt play as good of possession-style soccer that we usually do, said Kittle, who takes a cerebral approach to coaching, frequently pointing out the other teams strategy to the players on the bench. We started playing the same kind of game. We just started to hit it forward and run after balls. We didnt react to the game very well. We didnt move the ball as well as we can.
He added that by placing a few attempts low on the goal, M-P might have scored a second or third goal in regulation to avoid overtime and pull off the win.
The Tomahawks had prepared well for a Cascade offense that counts on corner kicks and throw-ins to set up the goal.
We were pretty well prepared for restarts. They must have had a ton of long throw-ins and cornerkicks. We didnt let any of those goals go in, Kittle added. I think it was a little bit heartbreaking for them. It was the first game where we hadnt scored (at least) two goals.
With Arlington and Oak Harbor standing between M-P and the second half of their schedule when they rematch against their conference opponents, Kittle hopes to focus his team on improving the defense. Out of the three games in which the Tomahawks allowed two goals against the three other teams atop the league standings, Snohomish, Cascade and Monroe M-P lost two. They defeated Monroe in the Bearcats stadium, 3-2, March 22.
I only anticipate that well play them better. It is kind of a mental hurdle that we have to overcome, how to perform in big games. Because I think we have enough talent to win those games, and I think the guys know that too, Kittle said. Us and Snohomish have been scoring the same amount of goals, but Snohomish has been playing good defense lately. I think as it gets down to the end, its going to come down to who can defend better.