Mercer Island stops Meadowdale in shootout; Cedarcrest next

EDMONDS — Caity Connolly had been to the state soccer tournament before, but the Mercer Island goalkeeper was in uncharted territory during last night's Class 3A quarterfinal match against host Meadowdale.

After 90 scoreless minutes of regulation and overtime, Connolly faced nine shootout kicks before smothering the final shot to give the Islanders a 1-0 shootout victory and a trip to the semifinals.

The Islanders advanced to a semifinal showdown with KingCo rival Cedarcrest (14-3-2) next Friday at 2 p.m. at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood.

"I've only been in two shootouts in my entire career," said Connolly, who also scored one of the eight successful shootout kicks for Mercer Island (13-3-3).

"The first one was my first game ever, back in sixth grade."

It was a bitter loss for Meadowdale, which advanced to the match with a shootout win of its own Monday against Columbia River in Vancouver. The Mavericks from Lynnwood controlled the action through the first 15 minutes and generated several chances without capitalizing.

"You kind of bite your lip on those," Meadowdale senior Courtney Hughes said. "But you figure, we'll get it next time."

There may well be a next time for the Mavericks, who sported just three seniors on a roster otherwise dominated by juniors.

"I've heard people talk about next year, but I've never done that," Meadowdale coach Sean Griffin said. "We were shooting to do as well as we could this year."

During the shootouts, each team missed one of its first two shots, then embarked on a run of 14 consecutive goals combined.

Nance Hill, who scored the lone goal in the Islanders' 1-0 win at White River on Tuesday, scored to give Mercer Island an 8-7 shootout lead. Connolly then took a step to her right and smothered the final try by Meadowdale's Keesha Baumler.

"I just picked the right side, which is nice," said Connolly, who was mobbed by her teammates after the stop. "Honestly, that was the happiest moment of my life."

The Islanders had their best chances in the first 25 minutes of the second half, forcing Meadowdale goalie Trisha McMillan into several acrobatic saves.