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Skyline soccer tops Eastlake in cross-town duel

September 29, 2009

By Christopher Huber

By Christopher Huber
When Skyline forward Jackie Wilson broke open the 0-0 tie in the 53rd minute against the Eastlake Wolves Sept. 24, the home crowd and her teammates went wild.
The two Sammamish teams had played a physical game of cat-and-mouse all evening and Eastlake had not given the Lady Spartans any real chances to score.
As Wilson, a sophomore, set up in the middle of the box and tussled with Eastlake defender Savannah Gunning, her teammate, Maddie Christ, dribbled up the right side of the field and fed it to the center. Wilson got the ball, fended off the ensuing Eastlake defense and somehow tipped the ball in the right side of the goal as she fell.
“It kind of just worked out. Two of them (defenders) came from behind me and I just kind of fell forward and hit it,” Wilson said after the game. “It was pretty lucky. It was kind of like a golf putt.”
In the end, Skyline came out with a 2-1 victory over Eastlake at Spartan Stadium.
Both teams duked it out for 80 minutes of aggressive but measured play. Eastlake controlled the tempo early and had a few opportunities offensively.
“We were pushing it down their throats,” said Eastlake senior captain Allie Beahan. “The only two chances they had were those two and they scored off of them.”
But the second half saw a rejuvenated Skyline, which scored when it counted, maintain a tight defense and beat the swift Wolves in the air.
“They are very good in the air. They were winning a majority of the header balls,” Beahan said. “And we know we need to work on that, but we’ll see ‘em again.”
After the Wilson goal, Eastlake got lucky in the 67th minute when Skyline’s Dom Randle accidentally headed the ball into her own goal on an Eastlake shot from 40 yards out. The ball careened off the back of her head right past Skyline goalkeeper Jill Stika.
“Certainly it’s unfortunate to stick one in your own net, but none of the girls dropped their heads and they were ready to just get back to work and continue to push for another goal,” Skyline head coach Don Braman said after the match.
Eastlake seemed re-energized with a tie game.
But Skyline had been working on finishing strong all season and this game was no exception.
“We’ve learned by playing against the best teams. And tonight, the quality of our opponent was not a shock,” Braman said. “Eastlake’s a great team and we were ready to match their level of play. In the first half we matched them and we really started to bring it in the second half.”
The final and go-ahead goal came in the 74th minute off the foot of Skyline senior midfielder Coral Anderson.
After taking an Anna Morgan pass from the left side, Anderson nailed the ball, over Eastlake’s Bryce Kennedy’s head, center goal, from 10 yards out.
“It kind of just bounced right in front of me and I hit it first time. It was a half-volley and it was a lefty, so I’m kind of proud of myself. I thought it was going to hit the post or go over,” Anderson said. “It could have gone either way and we just ended up pulling out with the win.”
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.

When Skyline forward Jackie Wilson broke open the 0-0 tie in the 53rd minute against the Eastlake Wolves Sept. 24, the home crowd and her teammates went wild.

The two Sammamish teams had played a physical game of cat-and-mouse all evening and Eastlake had not given the Lady Spartans any real chances to score.

As Wilson, a sophomore, set up in the middle of the box and tussled with Eastlake defender Savannah Gunning, her teammate, Maddie Christ, dribbled up the right side of the field and fed it to the center. Wilson got the ball, fended off the ensuing Eastlake defense and somehow tipped the ball in the right side of the goal as she fell.

Skyline midfielder Madi Barney jostles with Eastlake defender Jamie Marzano to control the ball in the first half Sept. 24. Photo by Christopher Huber

Skyline midfielder Madi Barney jostles with Eastlake defender Jamie Marzano to control the ball in the first half Sept. 24. Photo by Christopher Huber

“It kind of just worked out. Two of them (defenders) came from behind me and I just kind of fell forward and hit it,” Wilson said after the game. “It was pretty lucky. It was kind of like a golf putt.”

In the end, Skyline came out with a 2-1 victory over Eastlake at Spartan Stadium.

Both teams duked it out for 80 minutes of aggressive but measured play. Eastlake controlled the tempo early and had a few opportunities offensively.

“We were pushing it down their throats,” said Eastlake senior captain Allie Beahan. “The only two chances they had were those two and they scored off of them.”

But the second half saw a rejuvenated Skyline, which scored when it counted, maintain a tight defense and beat the swift Wolves in the air.

“They are very good in the air. They were winning a majority of the header balls,” Beahan said. “And we know we need to work on that, but we’ll see ‘em again.”

After the Wilson goal, Eastlake got lucky in the 67th minute when Skyline’s Dom Randle accidentally headed the ball into her own goal on an Eastlake shot from 40 yards out. The ball careened off the back of her head right past Skyline goalkeeper Jill Stika.

“Certainly it’s unfortunate to stick one in your own net, but none of the girls dropped their heads and they were ready to just get back to work and continue to push for another goal,” Skyline head coach Don Braman said after the match.

Eastlake seemed re-energized with a tie game.

But Skyline had been working on finishing strong all season and this game was no exception.

“We’ve learned by playing against the best teams. And tonight, the quality of our opponent was not a shock,” Braman said. “Eastlake’s a great team and we were ready to match their level of play. In the first half we matched them and we really started to bring it in the second half.”

The final and go-ahead goal came in the 74th minute off the foot of Skyline senior midfielder Coral Anderson.

After taking an Anna Morgan pass from the left side, Anderson nailed the ball, over Eastlake’s Bryce Kennedy’s head, center goal, from 10 yards out.

“It kind of just bounced right in front of me and I hit it first time. It was a half-volley and it was a lefty, so I’m kind of proud of myself. I thought it was going to hit the post or go over,” Anderson said. “It could have gone either way and we just ended up pulling out with the win.”

Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com.

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Written by Christopher Huber · Filed Under Sports 

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