SNOHOMISH — When the Tomahawk soccer team looks at their schedule each spring, they circle the Snohomish games.

“It’s something we look forward to every year,” said junior captain Brady Ballew.

Snohomish has been at the top of the league for about a decade, making the teams’ clash March 30 a yardstick of Marysville-Pilchuck’s early progress.

By the end of two overtimes, the teams appeared about as evenly matched as a game can measure, splitting 2-2.

With a serious attempt and rebound in the first two minutes, Snohomish came out aggressively, but it was M-P who put first points on the board. A few minutes after a Ballew attempt bounced off the right goalpost, senior John Crenshaw passed a ball in front of the Snohomish goal, setting up midfielder Elwood Sevon for the header.

The lead was very short-lived, as Snohomish drove down and answered the goal inside of a minute.

A miscommunication on defense allowed the Panthers to score less than a minute into the second half as goalkeeper Kyle Bluhm went after a keeper, leaving the goal open. Once again, the lead was a short one as Ballew passed the ball up to Crenshaw, who evened the score while the half was still 90 seconds young. It was Crenshaw’s fifth consecutive game with a goal. Thirty-eight more minutes and two overtimes proved fruitless in either team’s effort to break the stalemate.

While the teams duked it out for the league last year — Snohomish sneaking into the championship late in the season — senior captain Jeff Jensen said he believes the team has the confidence to compete with the league’s best.

“I think we got over that lump last year,” he said.

Coach Geoff Kittle added that the boys did well against a high-tempo team. They’ll continue working on their possession style of play and keeping cool heads in the moment.

“I liked how they responded after that goal,” Kittle said of the team’s second-half effort.

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