ARLINGTON — What a week Arlington soccer just had.
They beat second-place Lake Stevens to stay alive in the postseason hunt and knocked off Monroe to clinch the third and final 4A playoff spot.
“If you had asked (Arlington’s players) three weeks ago, they would have said they weren’t going to the playoffs,” Arlington coach Nathan Davis said. “This team was picked by other coaches to be last in the league — it’s awesome that they can hang their hats on the third-place finish.”
Against Lake Stevens on Oct. 24, senior forward Teresa Wadey scored a senior midfielder Sophia Hitsky-assisted goal to draw blood. Senior keeper Cassie Lake pitched a five-save shutout, fueled by sophomore defender Madi Grogan and junior midfielder Nellie Helm, to keep the Eagles alive for their loser-out showdown against Monroe for the third and final seed.
Arlington came through on the day that it mattered most, beating Monroe 3-0 in Arlington on Senior Night to seal the deal.
“This is my seventh time in the playoffs, but the first time where senior night meant everything,” Davis said. “This team has good senior leadership — they were always very motivated, very athletic and they always improved throughout the season.”
Hitsky knocked in a penalty kick in the fifth minute against the Bearcats after senior forward Dana Canaria was fouled in the box. Canaria took revenge on her own behalf by assisting Teresa Wadey on Arlington’s second goal off of a cross in the 25th minute. The pair connected again when Wadey struck again in the 70th minute off another Canaria assist. Lake secured another shutout with three saves as sophomore defender Darby Winterer and junior defender Ronnie Ladines shut down Monroe’s attack.
Arlington has since fallen 2-1 in a single-elimination match to Edmonds-Woodway on Oct. 29.
“They scored first and we came back and tied it up at the 50th minute on a goal by Morgan Busby,” Davis said. “Unfortunately, they scored with 15 minutes to play to take the lead. We had a couple of good chances to equalize, but it wasn’t to be. (Freshman forward) Kaylee Bartley did a great job on the left wing and really led our attack from the outside – she created a lot of good opportunities for us.”
