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 the regular season 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 will play for third place at state Nov. 23 at 11 a.m. vs. the Northwest Christian Crusaders in Federal Way. As for the quick turnaround, Pickering said it will be tough mentally, but there’s nothing more you can do but move on.
