Mead wins in 4A

Three goals are usually plenty in soccer, and Mead had that many in the first half of its first-round State 4A tournament match against Kamiak on Tuesday at Albi Stadium.

It turned out the Panthers needed them all in a 3-2 triumph to move into Saturday’s round of eight.

Breanne Taylor won the battle with Kamiak goalkeeper Tana Foster following a nice series of passes and drilled home what proved the winning goal to gave Mead a 3-1 lead 4 minutes before halftime of the state playoff game.

The Knights tallied early in the second half on a goal by Rachel Varner and the Panthers spent the rest of the match keeping the visitors at bay.

“I was real happy with what we did offensively,” Mead coach Steve Snider said of the outcome. “The ball movement was crisp and we were playing it on time and creating good opportunities. But we kept giving up soft goals against the run of play and gave them a little bit of life.”

As a result, both teams appeared comfortable in their attacks in what tended to be an open-field game on the spacious Albi pitch that made marking help difficult.

Mead, which outshot Kamiak 19-6, gained the upper hand with a perfectly executed corner kick by Morgan Fryman and header by Jill Pecka for a goal 9 minutes into the match.

Eleven minutes later it was 2-0 as Fryman was the recipient of a pair of nice passes up the right side and across to the left. Her shot was true.

But it wasn’t long before before Kamiak halved the score on a goal by Cassidy Seckman at the 27-minute mark.

Again Mead’s accuracy with its long passes got the ball in position about 25 yards from the goal. Kamiak’s keeper challenged the ball out front and it left her vulnerable. Taylor made her pay.

“Our wide midfielder, Lindzee Baker, crosses it in and Lindsey Pangborn tries to get a touch off,” Taylor said. “It slides to the middle and it’s an open shot right there. I saw an open corner and said, ‘That’s mine.’ ”

The score proved vital on the fast and wide Albi surface.

“It’s definitely way wider (than a school field), and it spreads out the game a lot,” Taylor said. “Something we try to do is get as wide as we can so we can get a decent ball across. I think we did awesome tonight.”

The Panthers (17-1) were knocked out of state at Albi a year ago. Saturday, they are at Pasco for a berth in the state semifinals.

“We’re playing well with great team chemistry and have the potential to make a run,” Snider said. “But everybody you play at this point is good. You’ve got to recognize you can never relax.”

•In a state opener at Pasco’s Edgar Brown Stadium, Nicki Grigg fed Marianne Johnson for a goal at 5 minutes and Pasco held on for a 1-0 win over Gonzaga Prep (14-4).

State 3A

East Valley came out on the short end of 1-0 overtime decision against Shorecrest at Albi that brought an end to the Knights’ season.

Eighty minutes of defensive thrust and parry produced a scoreless standoff in regulation during the nightcap.

Two minutes into the first overtime, Agen Heffernan got behind the defense and drilled a shot into the right side of the net that left the Knights with an 8-8 season record.

“I thought she was offside, but I didn’t have the angle,” EV coach Gabe Escobar said. “That was an outstanding defensive match all the way around. I thought both teams really played well.”

They battled up and down the field and neither could get a solid shot on goal until 3 minutes before half when Shorecrest apparently scored the go-ahead goal. That one was waved off by an offside call.

The second half was more of the same. The Knights got a decent shot off a corner kick that was wide at the 75-minute mark and the Seattle-based Highlanders countered from the corner 2 minutes later that EV goalkeeper Brooke Myre hauled down in a crowd.

“We came out and did everything right,” Escobar said. “Eventually, the ball has to find the back of the net.”

•In a state opener at Bremerton, Ali Brown scored with 2 minutes left to give Olympic a 1-0 win over Shadle Park. The Highlanders finished 6-10.

State 2A

Cheney (15-4) and Pullman (16-3) both advanced to this weekend’s state quarterfinals by posting opening-round wins.

Kellie Zakrzewski scored her 33rd and 34th goals of the season to guide Cheney to a 3-1 win over the visiting Ridgefield Spudders (9-9). Nicole Fox’s corner kicks set up the Blackhawks’ first two goals, on headers by Zakrzewski and Chelsie Breen.

Nora Ifft held the Spudders scoreless until Chelsea Boni’s goal with 1 minute left.

Cheney’s quarterfinal is tentatively scheduled Saturday at Gonzaga Prep. Tonight’s winner between Cedarcrest and North Mason will play Cheney.

Kendra Heim’s goal from 25 yards out at 29 minutes gave Pullman a 1-0 win at Selah (13-6) in a rematch of last year’s opener, also won by Pullman.

Emily Van Orden posted her 13th shutout of the season for the Greyhounds.

Pullman will play East Valley (Yakima) in the quarterfinals, tentatively set for Friday in the Tri-Cities.