HS Girls Soccer: Sumner Advances To State Quarterfinals Over Mt. Si Despite Playing With 10 Players In Second Half

11/14/24

Sumner Spartans 2, Mt. Si Wildcats 1

(Sumner, WA) The Sumner Spartans were given the three seed after winning the District 3/4 Tournament impressively, pitching three shutouts in all three matches they had. The Mt. Si Wildcats earned the 14 seed after an impressive regular season and winning against Bothell 5-0 to secure a spot in the State Tournament. Sumner and Mt. Si had met once already on the season, way back on September 17, where Sumner won 1-0 over Mt. Si. The winner of this match would face either six-seed Curtis or 11-seed Camas in the quarterfinals.

In the first half, Sumner applied offensive pressure for about the first ten minutes of the match before Mt. Si took control of the first half. The Wildcats controlled the pace and possession for most of the half, but Sumner’s junior keeper, Kennedy Jackson, made multiple outstanding saves to keep Mt. Si scoreless. The biggest play of the match came in the 35th minute when Olivia Lopez was given a red card when she elbowed Makenna Holub in the head while battling for a loose ball in the middle of the field. Holub was shown a yellow card as well, but Sumner would have to play the remainder of the half with only ten players. The teams would be scoreless at the half as the rain, which was non-existent at kickoff, began to pour as the first half went on.

In the second half, with the rain continuing to pour, Sumner and Mt. Si both controlled possession evenly despite Sumner down to ten players. In the 56th minute, Sumner would earn a free kick from about 45 yards away from the goal. Brooklyn Johnson for the Spartans delivered an excellent free kick that dropped inside the 18, where it was loose for a moment, and Sara Zehnder found the ball and poked it into the back of the net to give Sumner a 1-0 lead. Less than ten minutes later, Zehnder scored again. This time, Zehnder had a great pass to set up Mae Cocke, who made a great run to the six-yard box where her shot was saved. Zehnder, off the rebound, corralled the ball, turned, and fired another shot, which found the net to make it 2-0. Mt. Si was able to add a goal in stoppage time, with sophomore Alexa Newman making a fantastic run for the Wildcats and was able to get the late goal to make it 2-1 with little time left. Mt. Si gave it everything they had but Sumner held on for the 2-1 victory over Mt. Si to advance to the State Quarterfinals.

Our elisportsnetwork.com Match MVP went to Sumner’s senior Sara Zehnder. Her two goals were the reason why Sumner advanced into the next round and for both goals to come while being a player down makes it an even more impressive feat. The back line for Sumner was outstanding as well, which consists of Taylor Mentink, Khloe Mahaffey, Brooklyn Johnson, and Alezandra White. As a group, those four made it very difficult for Mt. Si to get shots off inside the 18 and collectively were another difference maker in the match.

Mt. Si had great performances from their goal scorer, Alexa Newman, who was creating chances all night, not just for herself but for her teammates also. Morgan Ruffin was another Wildcat who had a good night as she made multiple great runs while getting opportunities for Mt. Si, Olive Haber had a good night for the Wildcats and Megan Ulrich had some really strong throws to flip the field in the match.

Sumner advances to the State Quarterfinals, where they will face 6-seed Curtis for the third time this season at 7 PM on Saturday at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner. Sumner and Curtis played to a 0-0 draw in October, and last week, Sumner defeated Curtis in the District 3/4 Championship Match 1-0. The Spartans now have a record of 15-2-3.

Mt. Si’s season comes to a close with a record of 11-8-3.

Click here to see the full bracket for the 4A Girls Soccer State Tournament.

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