Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009

PREP GIRLS' SOCCER: Trojans come back to win in district semifinal

The Meridian girls' soccer team did not let the memories of losing to Friday Harbor during the regular season haunt it, even when the Wolverines took the lead in the seventh minute.

Hannah Belanger scored the equalizer a minute later and Alicia Wolf added two more goals, as the Trojans grabbed a 3-1 semifinal victory in the Class 1A Northwest District Tournament on Thursday, Oct. 29, at Oak Harbor.

With the win, Meridian (4-14) clinched at least a trip to next week's 1A tri-district tournament and will get a chance to play King's for an automatic berth to state in the 2 p.m. district championship game on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Oak Harbor.

"It was great for us to go and get this win," Meridian coach Aaron Jacoby said in a phone interview. "This time of year you just want to keep winning one more game, one more game. Every time out, all you want to do is earn the right to play one more game."

Jacoby and the Trojans had to be wondering whether their next game would be the third-place elimination game after Friday Harbor, which beat Meridian 2-0 on Sept. 26, took a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute on Thursday.

"Our loss to Friday Harbor the first time around was one of our two worst games all year," Jacoby said. "When they scored on us, it was 'Oh no, this is not happening again.'"

It didn't take long for Belanger to make sure it wouldn't, as she got behind a defender, took a pass from Randi Donahue and placed a perfect shot in the far corner to knot the score at 1-1.

Nine minutes later, Wolf drilled a pass from Donahue into the net to give the Trojans the lead, and two minutes after that she tore through the Wolverines' defense to give Meridian an insurance goal.

"The game could have been a bit more out of hand," Jacoby said. "We had three or four corner kicks that we got our heads on and just missed and a number of other shots that were just wide or over the cross bar."

Jacoby was also pleased by the play of his defense, including Trinnell Carpenter and goalie Chance Appel.

"Trinnell Carpenter played great today," Jacoby said. "She takes her mistakes personally, and I thought she played great. Our goalie did, too. That goal she allowed in would have beat a lot of goalies. I thought we were really solid on defense."

MERIDIAN 3, FRIDAY HARBOR 1

Scoring: Goal: Lelle Guard (FH), time: 7th minute; Goal: Hannah Belanger (Meridian), assist: Randi Donahue, time: 8th minute; Goal: Alicia Wolf (Meridian), assist: Randi Donahue, time: 17th minute; Goal: Alicia Wolf, time: 19th minute. Shots on goal: Meridian 18; Friday Harbor 6. Goalies (saves): Meridian: Chance Appel (5); Friday Harbor: Hannah Snow (16).