Evergreen figured heading into Thursday’s 3A Greater St. Helens League girls soccer bout with Mountain View that defense was going to be essential.
For 80 minutes, the Plainsmen withstood the relenting waves of the Thunder attack. The storm persisted, an unceasing charge that Evergreen stymied time and time again. And then, a brief respite.
One chance, and Maddie Harris made the most of it, deflecting a corner kick off the Thunder goalkeeper and into the net.
Makayla Hiler made 12 saves for the Plainsmen, parrying away point-blank opportunities and diving on long-range tries.
When the final whistle blew, a welcome end to a grueling effort, Evergreen was a 1-0 victor over the Thunder.
“Today, we knew we were going to have to defend for most part of the match. Sometimes in soccer, that’s the way it goes,” coach Keenan Burris said. “The kids pulled it out. It was just an outstanding effort across the board.”
This was a statement win, of sorts, for the Plainsmen, whose coach figured Mountain View and Prairie were the favorites heading into the season.
Now at 2-0 in league (5-2-1 overall) and tied with Kelso, the Plainsmen are gearing to make some noise. Even if that means relying on its defense and hoping for brief glimmers of an attack.
“Hey, I’ll take this any day,” Burris said. “This puts in a spot that’s not expected. We don’t know if we’re quite where they’re at yet, but I’ll take the result. The kids bought into the gameplan and we’re ready to go.”
The Plainsmen made clear the defense is up to the task Tuesday. Hiler was nothing short of phenomenal, denying Eva Andrews in the mouth of the goal in the 72nd minute her signature stop of the evening.
It was hard to choose, though, as her back-to-back saves to end the first half were remarkable in their own right.
“It was awesome; this was definitely her best game of the season,” Harris said of her fellow senior.
And it was, of course, a defender rewarded for a hard night of work. Harris, a tenacious central defender, got her third goal of her career off a corner kick, directly off the kick that is. Her 54th minute tally was all Evergreen needed.
“It was intended to go in between the six and the goal line,” Harris said. “But it just curved. It worked out.”
