Photo credit: Susie Stenberg
Mercer Island hands 4-1 loss to Stadium for Washington State 3A Title
Great article by Matt Massey, special for The Seattle Times. September 18, 2017
Excerpts:
Jessie Stenberg supplied a hat trick as Mercer Island dominated previously undefeated Stadium of Tacoma 4-1 to give the Islanders’ program a breakthrough moment in the Class 3A state-championship match on Saturday at Sparks Stadium.
For the Islanders (16-1-3), it was all about bringing effort from the start, allowing them to finish the season on top under first-year coach James Valles.
“You have those leaders on your team, like Kendall Riley and Jessie, who were an example to the whole team,” Valles said. “When you get to this point, it’s all about them playing. All my work is done. It’s just heart, grit, soul and just leaving it out on the field."
The Islanders went on top 1-0 in the 15th minute when Stenberg finished off a bouncing ball directly in front of the Stadium goal mouth. Stenberg tapped the ball in from inches away after the free kick from MI’s Kendall Riley glanced off teammate Jackie Gilroy and to the feet of Stenberg, who was in a crowd.
Stenberg made it 2-0 by converting a corner kick from Emily Arron in the 23rd minute, but Stadium (19-1) answered with an 18-yard strike by Ella Nadeau less than a minute later in the 24th minute.
The Islanders’ lead went to 3-1 when Emily Arron fired a 32-yard shot that skipped off the head of Stadium’s Kayla Fraser and into the left corner of the net in the 30th minute.
Stenberg made it 4-1 with a rebound shot at the right post in the 75th minute after Emily Arron’s shot bounced off Stadium goalkeeper Katherine Nelson.
Mercer Island Outplayed Stadium for State 3A Title
Excerpts of note from article by TJ Cotterill, The New Tribune (Tacoma) November 18, 2017
“They are definitely a more aggressive, fast team than we’ve played,” Becker [Stadium's head coach] said. “They had a better idea of what they were doing. And when they did it, they did it. The difference was they beat us to every ball… "
And Mercer Island coach James Valles seemed to have the right combination to finally slow [Makenzie] Burks, who finished her junior season with 27 goals [and was TNT All-Area player of the year].
“Keep her on her right foot,” Valles said. “Don’t let her go left. She’s always going to try to go by you and then go left. Don’t bite. Just stay in front of her. And my two defensive mids [Kendall Riley and Jackie Stenberg] controlled the midfield I thought all day".
The Islanders (16-1-3) seemed to attack from all angles, getting 16 shots to Stadium’s nine.
Valles said his team didn’t have any nerves facing undefeated Stadium because Mercer Island had been battle tested.
“I’m not going to lie, I looked at (Stadium’s) record and they’re winning some games 10-0 (They beat Lincoln 10-0, then 13-0, Mount Tahoma 11-0 and Spanaway Lake 9-0). Even if you’re super good that doesn’t do you any good,” Valles said. “It just inflates stats. Us having some games [with great teams like Liberty, Bellevue, Redmond], we were prepared.”
Kamiakin can't slow Mercer Island attack, falls 4-2 in State Semi Finals
Nice article with video clips by Dustin Brennan of the Tri-City Harold. September 17, 2017
Excerpts:
In scattered showers iconic of the tournament host’s region, the Kamiakin High School girls soccer team couldn’t stop a downpour of Mercer Island goals on Friday at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. The result was a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Islanders in their 3A state semifinal match in a game that featured a few firsts for the Braves; mainly, their first loss.
The Islanders (14-1-3) turned the first half into a stalemate when, in the 28th, Kendall Riley collected a rebound off a save by Wilbur and fired on an open net following a corner kick for a 1-all tie.
MI opened up its lead in the second half when Jackie Gilroy volleyed in an Emily Aaron cross in the 51st, and Elaina Martin scored with an assist from Gilroy in the 56th for a 3-1 game.
Mercer Island was able to put the game away with an insurance goal by Jessie Stenberg in the 76th for its final 4-2 lead.