PUYALLUP — The Skyview boys soccer team will play one more game Saturday. That it will not be for the Class 4A state championship means the day will not be as special as the Storm hoped.
Ferris of Spokane scored two second-half goals on Friday to rally for a 3-2 win in a semifinal match at Sparks Stadium, leaving the Storm to contemplate defensive breakdowns and missed scoring opportunities.
In the aftermath, goalkeeper Evan Laws gathered his teammates and promised not to shed any tears until his Skyview soccer career ends with Saturday’s third-place match. The Storm get a chance to avenge their only other loss of the season when they battle Kentwood for third place.
Ferris will play Snohomish for the championship.
Snohomish beat Kentwood 2-0 in Friday’s second semifinal.
“I’m sad that we didn’t win, obviously,” Laws said later, explaining the message he had for his teammates. “But the experiences I’ve shared with these kids out here, whether they’re seniors or freshmen just starting out, are a lot more valuable to me than a state championship. So I feel like I’m going to be a lot more sad when I don’t get to play with them anymore.”
Friday’s match turned on the details that Skyview anticipated. Ferris scored its three goals from restarts, using a long throw-in, a corner kick and a free kick to generate its offense.
“We knew that was their strength. We practiced for it all week,” said Carter Johnson, who scored his 27th goal of the season on Friday. “But they’re a great team that definitely deserved it. They had a helluva game. They did what they do best. They scored on set pieces.”
Eric Hollenbaugh scored two of those and Matt Beaulauier the other. Hollenbaugh gave Ferris a 1-0 lead before the match was two minutes old, scoring a similar goal to the one he converted at Camas last Saturday by being at the far post when a throw-in from Beaulauier bounced off of bodies in front of goal.
Then a Ferris of a different color then put his stamp on the match. Skyview senior Eric Ferris had a goal and an assist in the first half to put the Storm in front 2-1.
In the 28th minute, Eric Ferris took a pass from Garrett Bredy and pushed a quick ball to Johnson in front for the finish that tied the match 1-1. Then, in first-half injury time, Eric Ferris gave the Storm the lead at the end of a quick four-pass counter attack, with Luis Garcia’s pass sending him in one-on-one for the finish under Saxons goalkeeper Alex Pells.
“That was an amazing turn, the way (Garcia) controlled the ball and maneuvered it and played me in. It was a beautiful set up. All the credit goes to him,” Eric Ferris said.
Ferris High School didn’t let Eric Ferris see much of the ball after halftime, paying more attention to Skyview’s speed. And the Saxons spent the first 15 minutes after halftime pushing the attack. They tied it in the 51st minute, with Beaulauier getting a clean header from a corner kick for their second goal.
The go-ahead goal came in the 59th minute. The Saxons quickly took a free kick from midfield, finding Jonathan Galgalo in space on the left wing. His high cross found Hollenbaugh, who was open behind the defense and headed the ball back inside the left post.
Skyview center back Austin Horner said he thought he had a teammate marking Hollenbaugh behind him when Galgalo’s cross went over his head.
“The second and third ones were mental lapses,” Horner said. “We had one guy coming in unmarked on their second goal and he headed it in. That’s their bread and butter so they’re going to finish those.”
Skyview responded with quality soccer over the last 20 minutes, but put only two shots on target in the second half, both right at Pells, the Ferris keeper.
Skyview coach Jenn Johnson said her team did a nice job of building the attack after falling behind, but didn’t do what wins soccer matches.
“You can possess the ball all game long, and we can have shot after shot after shot, but if we’re not getting them on frame, that’s what makes the difference,” she said.
Skyview will be playing in a different match than planned on Saturday, but Jenn Johnson is confident her team will demonstrate its resilience.
“I think their commitment to each other will help them to play well tomorrow,” the coach said.
