There will be no repeat championship for Crosspoint Christian.
Miscues in the 21st minute of the second half allowed Mount Vernon Christian to erase a 2-1 advantage, and after a scoreless overtime, the Hurricanes stormed past the defending 1B/2B champions in penalty kicks to upset the Wildcats 3-2 (4-1) at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.
Crosspoint had played Mount Vernon twice heading into the Nov. 22 semifinal contest, the teams tying 1-1 in their only regular season meeting and the Wildcats winning 2-0 for the district title.
Coach Scean Pickering’s game plan remained much the same heading into clash No. 3, but despite controlling the ball through the majority of the match, his team found itself inflicting more damage to itself than its opponent.
“We played them the same way we played them” earlier in the season, he said. “We outshot them almost three to one, we outpossessed them, but their offense came off of what we gave them, and that’s what’s so frustrating.”
The Hurricanes struck early after the referee awarded them a penalty kick in the 11th minute, the shot marking the first goal scored against Crosspoint in this year’s state tournament.
The Wildcats erased the deficit with a penalty kick in the 22nd minute, sophomore Kaylee Ajanovic tying it up at 1-1. Then Ajanovic did it again, this time rebounding a teammate’s shot to strike it past the Mount Vernon goalkeeper in the 25th minute.
Crosspoint continued to shoot but was unable to pull away, thanks to the Mount Vernon goalie making her clear-cut case for tournament MVP. A shot sent toward senior Crosspoint goalkeeper Amanda Scripps went off her hands and back into play, finding the foot of a Mount Vernon player for the game-tying score.
“They had the keeper advantage, (but) it shouldn’t have gotten to that point,” Pickering said, making a stand for his keeper. “That’s what I told her, you know, that it’s not all on one person.”
Close calls and shots off by a matter of inches aside, the game would come down to penalties, where Mount Vernon blocked the shots of Ajanovic and junior Brooke Berens. Eighth-grader Rylie Phillips’ shot was good, and Scripps blocked the Hurricanes’ third shot. But down 3-1, a high miss by junior Mary Scripps put an end to Crosspoint’s repeat hopes.
The Wildcats were faced with a quick turnaround for the Nov. 23 third-place contest against the Northwest Christian Crusaders in Federal Way, where the Wildcats again went down early on a 13th-minute goal. Ajanovic picked up where she left off the night before tying the score 1-1 in the 19th minute.
Northwest found the net again on a 28th-minute penalty kick, but junior Brooke Berens took a downfield pass and sent it past the approaching goalkeeper to make it 2-2 in the 34th minute.
There was plenty of scoring to come in the second half, and this time, it was Crosspoint’s turn to strike first. Ajanovic continued her steller postseason by finding goal again in the 6th minute of the half. Then in the 14th minute of the half, a free kick from junior Mary Scripps just inside the traditional corner kick spot was collected in the air by the Northwest goalkeeper but not before the ball was ruled to come across the line for a goal.
Northwest was not out of it yet, earning and capitalizing on another penalty kick in the half’s 18th minute, but a response from junior Anna Kuske in the 26th minute gave the Wildcats a crucial insurance goal.
They would need it too after Northwest yet again capitalized on a third penalty kick goal in the 32nd minute. Crosspoint clinched the 5-4 win.
