MOUNT VERNON — Bellingham senior Nolan Shepard expressed no surprise at scoring the quickest goal of his soccer career.

A little more than 60 seconds into a game his team had to win, Bellingham’s scoring leader made good on a scramble out of a crowd for a ball in the air.

The Red Raiders dominated all the way in their 3-0 victory over Lynden in a loser-out game of the Class 2A Northwest District tournament Thursday night at Mount Vernon High School.

“I knew we could come out and dominate,” said Shepard, who scored his 15th goal. “I really felt we would dominate on this turf.”

Fellow senior Ryan Flood agreed.

“We were really, really pumped up because we wanted to face Sehome,” said Flood, referring to a 1 p.m. matchup Saturday at Mount Vernon between the Red Raiders (12-6) and Mariners (12-6), who have split 2-1 decisions, the first in Sehome’s shootout victory and the second in Bellingham’s overtime win.

The winner earns a state tournament berth; the loser is through for the season.

“This was definitely our best overall game,” said Flood, a midfielder who scored his third goal of the season on a tricky shot from the right side.

“I got a great flick pass from Jack Morgan after a cross from Nick Rader,” Flood said, referring to how the two sophomore standouts made possible his goal for a 2-0 lead in the 18th minute. At that point, Bellingham had nine shots and Lynden one on the way to a 21- 6 shot advantage.

“Jack stepped up big at midfield,” said Flood. He noted the same excellence from all of Bellingham’s primary defenders, including Leigh Robinette, Dylan Langei, Matt Schmidt, Kenny Schaumberg and Rader.

“I moved Jack Morgan up from the back line,” said Bellingham coach Jared Fields, who last year guided the Red Raiders to the first state spot in their history. “He gives us a real physical presence in the middle.”

“Our main focus was that we really wanted to make sure we played with passion,” said Fields, whose team recently lost a 1-0 shootout at Lynden (10-9) on a muddy field. “We wanted to show great energy and really attack the game, and that’s what we did.”

Fields, though, expressed respect for Lynden’s potential.

“Lynden’s a well-organized team and it’s going to be tough on us against them from here on out,” said Fields, whose Raiders broke a four-year losing streak to the Lions.

“Our middle school team hasn’t lost in four seasons,” said Lynden coach Drew Smiley, who started only four seniors and used a dozen freshmen and sophomores. “The future looks very bright.”

Jimmy Lee accounted for Bellingham’s final goal, scoring unassisted on a one-touch move from midfield in the 76th minute for his ninth goal. Bellingham goalkeeper Gabe Ketchum then made his third and final save to preserve the shutout.

Lynden goalkeeper Eric Kodama, a senior who had eight saves, was under constant pressure. Fields thought he was especially worthy of recognition.

“I think he’s the best keeper in the league,” Fields said of Kodama. “I couldn’t fault him for any of our goals.”

“Eric really is phenomenal,” said Smiley.

The closest Lynden came to a goal was in the 28th minute, when a free kick by sophomore striker Andrew Blair bounced over the bar.