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POSTED: Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

PREP GIRLS' SOCCER: Sehome falls to Archbishop Murphy in shootout

DUVAL - So close. But maybe so what.

With a return trip to state already punched, the Sehome girls' soccer team tussled with undefeated Archbishop Murphy during the finals of the Class 2A Northwest District Girls Soccer Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Cedarcrest High School, falling 4-2 in a shootout, but emerging with the knowledge they'd just taken one of Washington's top teams to the wire.

There was some vindication to be earned, after all, since the Wildcats sent the Mariners home with a 3-0 loss at state last year when the teams met in the quarterfinals.

On Saturday, Sehome did have just two players out of five hit the net during extra kicks. But there was no sign of tears on players' faces after the loss. The Mariners will enter the state tournament as a No. 2 seed, ensuring themselves a home game set for Tuesday, Nov. 10.

"I'm just really proud of us," Sehome sweeper Kaya Jones said. "We did really good. We weren't expected to do as well as we did."

The Mariners didn't just compete with the Wildcats, they took a 1-0 second half lead after forward Jessica Bertucci took it upon herself to create an opportunity when there had been few so far. The sophomore took the ball from one defender on a strong tackle near the Archbishop Murphy penalty box, beat a second defender with a nifty move and slipped the ball by the Wildcats' goalkeeper.

It was one of the few times Archbishop, which won the Cascade Conference with a 14-0 record, has been scored on all year.

Bertucci's goal was one of four shots the Mariners put on goal on the afternoon. But Sehome also found itself besieged at times by a quick and dangerous attack. Archbishop generated 12 shots on goal, though missing left, right and over the crossbar was a frequent occurrence.

So was seeing Sehome goalie Rachel Albert make plays to keep her team in the game. The freshman totaled 11 saves, but also actively patrolled the penalty box to snatch crosses out of the air and snuff lower passes near the goal line.

She got beat just once on a header by Maddy Huggins off a corner kick cross from Erin Ryan in the game's 65th minute as Archbishop evened the score at 1-1. Albert tipped the ball up, but was unable to push it over the crossbar, as she'd done on a shot just prior to Bertucci's goal, and again when the Wildcats immediately roared downfield after scoring, looking to take a 2-1 lead.

Albert's performance, along with that of sweeper Kaya Jones, anchored a courageous defensive effort by Sehome against an explosive opponent that featured several skill players with speed.

"I think my defense has done such a great job all year, nobody's really got to see what Rachel's capable of," Fountain said of her keeper.

The Mariners also proved they could compete without Tanya Haggen on the field. The senior forward, last year's All-Whatcom Player of the Year, sat out the game due to illness, said Fountain, who is hopeful Haggen will be able to play on Tuesday against an opponent yet to be determined. Freshman Hanna Tarleton and senior Libby Hotson did well to fill the void up top created by the absence.

With the shootout, Sehome seemed poised to become the first team to beat the Wildcats all season. But the Mariners were cold from the penalty mark, with just senior Maddy Henley and junior Sierra Loveland-Pope finding the net.

"They've had a couple shootouts this year so that gives them a little bit of an edge over us," Fountain said. "That was our first shootout this year. We work on PKs, it's just a little bit different when you have the same goalie everyday."

Fountain hinted the experience was one her team would learn from, and though disappointed the coach overall seemed pleased with her team's performance.

"I think we just wanted to come out and show we could compete with them, if nothing else just for the mental aspect being that they beat us last year," Fountain said.

ARCHBISHOP MURPHY 2, SEHOME 1 (SO)

Scoring: Goal: Jessica Bertucci (S), time: 60; Goal: Maddy Huggins (AM), assist: Erin Ryan, time: 65. Shots on goal: Sehome 4; AM 12. Goalies (saves): Sehome: Rachel Albert (11); AM: (3).