EVERETT These girls are tough.
While injuries are par for the course in a game like soccer, the Tomahawk girls team endured some physical blows and demonstrated their toughness runs deeper than their aggressive offense.
Along the way, they chalked up another win, looking positively dominant in their 3-0 defeat of Cascade Sept. 20 at Everett Memorial Stadium.
It took the Tommies only 25 minutes to score their three goals. Senior midfielder Kassandra Riozzi was credited with the first goal in the 10th minute of the game. Then when a foul took out senior forward Melissa Lauer on the cusp of her own goal, Riozzi took the penalty kick, finding the gap between the top of the net and Cascade goalkeeper Brittany Greenes glove.
Senior Hannah Wood scored the final goal with about 16 minutes left in the half.
M-P coach Geoff Kittle said the goal was a feather in Woods cap. The forward led the team in scoring last season and showed improved technique in the score against the Bruins.
She scored with her back turned, Kittle said.
The three-goal buffer provided Marysville with a few nice opportunities. For one, it helped boost the confidence of a program that has perennially struggled at Memorial Stadium. For another, several underclassmen saw their first playing time of the season.
One such player was freshman goalkeeper Lauren Schoonover, who caught the eye of the varsity coaches thanks to skills acquired from a summer on the Lakewood Legacy U16 team. She relieved senior Skyler Peterson with 13 minutes left in the game.
I was nervous, Schoonover said, reflecting on her varsity debut. They probably thought I was new because everyone was cheering. After the first save it was easier and I wasnt as nervous.
Kittle said he was pleased with the confidence he saw in the team.
Last year we got better every game. The girls are starting to believe in themselves, he said, explaining how the Tomahawks have exceeded preseason expectations that pegged them for a seventh-place finish in Wesco North. Theres less stress and the girls are playing a lot better.
So much better, the girls have adjusted their own goals for the season. Rather than aspiring to a .500 record like they did at the outset of the season, the girls are hoping to go 6-2 which would require wins over upcoming opponents Arlington and Oak Harbor and secure a state playoff berth.
If we can get these wins against Oak Harbor and Arlington, well be in good position, Kittle said.
But their goal is not entirely in their own hands. That state playoff berth goes to the top 4A team in the league. Right now, thats Snohomish. But wins over Snohomish and Everett, plus a Snohomish loss or tie would give them control of their own destiny.