For just the second time in school history, the Todd Beamer High School girls soccer team is state tournament-bound.
The Titans secured the bid Saturday with a 3-2 shootout win over the Stadium Tigers at Art Crate Stadium in the loser-out West Central District game.
Beamer (12-3-3) needed eight rounds of shooters and a big save from goalkeeper Jul Podawiltz to down the Tigers, who were the third seed from the Narrows League. The shootout ended when Pudawiltz knocked away a Stadium shot.
The Titans got shootout goals from Karlie Hall, Mackenzie Hickel, Sara Miller, Tiarra Fentress, Holland Crook, Jessica Sanchez, Jenna Floyd and the eventual game-winner from Jessica Niewoehner.
The Titans will now travel to Everett Memorial Stadium to take on the Jackson Timberwolves at 7 p.m. Nov. 10 in the opening round of the Class 4A State Girls Soccer Tournament.
“Hopefully, they’ll step up again,” said first-year Beamer head coach Joel Lindberg.
Jackson has been the top-ranked soccer team in the state for a bulk of the season. The Timberwolves won the Northwest 4A District Tournament Friday with a 1-0 victory over Monroe at Shoreline Stadium. Jackson has had 18 different players score at least one goal during the season and are led by the 13 of Megan Bolmes and 12 from Cara Wegner.
The Timberwolves have given up just five goals the entire season. The only blemish on their record is a 1-1 tie against Kamiak on Sept. 22. Jackson avenged that with a 2-1 win over Kamiak later in the season.
“I think having 10 seniors does help this time of year,” said Lindberg. “They are not ready to be done with their final high school season quite yet. Hopefully they’ll step up versus Jackson.”
The Titans did step up Saturday against Stadium. The regulation portion of the contest was back and forth. Beamer’s Tiarra Fentress got the Titans on the board first with a goal. But Stadium’s Krista Kellett tied the score at 1-1.
Beamer took the lead back on a goal from sophomore Breanna Straus, but Stadium’s Rachel McMahon sent the game into overtime with the game-tying goal in the 75th minute.
Both teams were shut out during the two five-minute overtime sessions, necessitating the penalty-kick shootout, which also went into overtime. Beamer and Stadium were still tied after their first five shooters found the back of the net.
The victory over Stadium came just three days after the Titans were dominated by the Kentwood Conquerors, 3-1, at the South Puget Sound League Tournament.
“I think the feeling with Kentwood was that some strange things happened and we could do better,” Lindberg said. “The girls were focused (against Stadium) and excited to go for the win.”
Beamer’s last appearance in the state tournament turned out to be a pretty successful one. During the 2007 season, the Titans lost in the state title game in a shootout to Eastlake, 2-1. Beamer beat Heritage, Kentwood and Woodinville on the way to second place.
Last season, the Titans were ranked No. 1 in the state for a portion of the season before being upset at the West Central District Tournament by the Tahoma Bears.
Bellarmine Prep 3, Decatur 0 (Saturday)
The Decatur Gators just couldn’t keep up with one of the best soccer programs in the state Saturday afternoon. Bellarmine Prep forward Kelsey Witker tallied two goals in the second half to lead the Lions to their seventh consecutive state berth with the 3-0 win over the Gators.
Bellarmine (18-2-1) earned the West Central District’s No. 4 seed and will play the KingCo 4A champion Issaquah (14-2-0) in the first round of the state playoffs. The loss ended Decatur’s season.
The Gators (10-3-4) just couldn’t get anything going against Bellarmine in Tacoma in an attempt to qualify for the state tournament for the first time since 2006. Decatur lost in the quarterfinals that year to Woodinville.
Bellarmine was the second seed from the Narrows League after losing to South Kitsap in the league’s championship game. It was the first time Bellarmine hasn’t won the Narrows League title in 10 years.
The shutout against Bellarmine was the third match in the row that the Gators haven’t scored a goal. Decatur was shut out by Beamer in their final match of the South Puget Sound League South Division and again by Kentlake in the SPSL Tournament. The Gators’ last goal came during a 7-0 win over Spanaway Lake on Oct. 27.
Decatur was led by Rachel Markey and Ashley Graves during the season. Markey lead the team with 13 goals and Graves scored 10 times.
Bellarmine got on the scoreboard Saturday in the ninth minute of the match when forward Stephanie Hamilton got a goal past Decatur goalkeeper Kayla Lipston. Witker tallied both her goals in the second half. Bellarmine goalie Autumn Golden recorded the shutout in goal for the Lions.
A lightning storm at the Lincoln Bowl suspended the game between the Lions and Decatur for 30 minutes during the second half.
