Cashmere soccer stunned in state finals [The Wenatchee World, Wash.]

Nov. 19--SHORELINE -- The Cashmere Bulldogs had a perfect record, a one-goal lead, and just five minutes between them and the first soccer state championship in program history.

The Seattle Academy Cardinals, on the other hand, still had a few tricks left up their sleeves.

The Cardinals' Izzy Fikso skipped a 40-yard free kick into the goal to tie the game in the 75th minute, and Maddie Mark rushed by the Bulldogs for the deciding goal just seconds into the second overtime to give Seattle Academy the 2-1 win and clinch its fourth Class 1A state title Saturday afternoon.

Click here to see Seattle Academy's title-clinching goal, courtesy of WIAA.

In the program's 13th tournament appearance, a talented Cashmere group that had a 20-0 record and zero goals allowed in state play seemed destined to end over a decade of state frustration. Instead, the Bulldogs had to settle for second place, which joins three pieces of third-place hardware in the trophy case.

"We played our hearts out. We gave it everything we had and it just didn't go our way in the end," Cashmere senior forward and co-captain Gaby Gonzalez said.

"The girls feel terrible. Their expectations were go undefeated, but I'm not disappointed with how we played, especially coming in back-to-back games," said Cashmere coach Dennis Tronson, whose team beat Newport 2-0 in the semifinals Friday. "You gotta beat 'the game' as well as your opponent, and the game was not nice to us."

Fikso's free kick took skipped on the turf at Shoreline Stadium, going under sliding Cashmere goalkeeper Suzy McCall.

"Suzy McCall makes save after save, but (the free kick) just kinda hit the turf and skidded. Suzy went into her slide to cover and it went underneath her.," Tronson said. "She'd already made four great reaction saves prior to that, but the ball just bounced the wrong direction."

The Bulldogs did their best to shake it off, getting a number of chances in the final minutes of regulation and the first overtime.

"We were still playing. We were still attacking," Tronson said.

Seattle Academy caught Cashmere off guard as the whistle blew in the second overtime, however. The Cardinals picked off the Bulldogs' kickoff, quickly countering up the right side of the field. Lindsey Vandergrift advanced the ball deep into Cashmere's box, then sent a perfect pass to a streaking Mark, who shot off a hop and into the back corner of the net.

"They had a gal sprinting in and found her perfectly. It was a great goal," Tronson said. "That was the only shot inside the box they had all night."

Cashmere had control of the match for the majority of the second half, as freshman forward Breanne Knishka put it ahead with a breakaway score just off the second-half kickoff.

"Tianna Helm hit Bre at about 30 yards out in the center of the field. She turns to the left, sells a pass and goes into space, turned on the jets and struck it on her right foot at the 18. It hit the inside of the post and went in," Tronson said. "It was a quick-hitting play, a beautiful goal."

Despite the two goals, the Bulldogs defense was as strong as it had been throughout the tournament, holding All-State forward Vandergrift scoreless.

"They were rock solid again. Mikayla Sites did a fantastic job, and Karly Thies had another outstanding match," Tronson said of the defense. "But when you give up set pieces at this level that can come back and haunt you, and they did."

"(The defense) did a very great job," Gonzalez said. "They got a few through, but Suzy had amazing saves."

Though it fell short of the championship, the Bulldogs were proud to claim their highest state finish yet.

"I'm very proud. This is the best team I've been on," said Gonzalez, the team's leading scorer and a four-year varsity player. "We've made a legacy. No one in the state came to the finals undefeated to the finals, and second place isn't bad."

"To go 20-1 is nothing to sneeze at," Tronson said. "We did everything we could do but raise the trophy this year."

Semifinals: Cashmere 2, Newport 0 (Friday)

Freshman defender Sites locked up Newport star Taylor Lewis, and Dani Morseman and Knishka both found the back of the net to send the Bulldogs to the finals.

"Mikayla Sites just did her thing again," Tronson said. "They had (Lewis) moving from midfielder to forward and back, but they couldn't find a way to shake Mikayla."

Cashmere took momentum into halftime, as Morseman scored off an assist from fellow sophomore midfielder Johnson just minutes before the break.

"Lauren is usually on the right side and Dani is on the left, but right before the goal we had a throw-in and flipped them," Tronson said. "Lauren sent a cross to Dani by the back post, and she was able to finish it off."

Knishka added insurance with an unassisted tally in the 55th minute.

The Bulldogs took some time getting comfortable to their surroundings in Shoreline, but once they did they took control of the contest.

"I felt there was a 20- to 25-minute time span where we adjusting to the turf and couldn't quite sync up, but we did settle in and in the second half we took control," Tronson said. "Karly Thies cleaned everything up. If I had to give out a 'player of the match,' I'd give it to her. She made Suzy McCall's life pretty easy."

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