EDMONDS — Trailing by a goal at halftime, Arlington soccer coach Mike Gudgeon reminded his team that they needed to play their game against Mountlake Terrace.

But the Hawks, who hosted the May 9 play-in game, successfully disrupted Arlington’s timing and countered the Eagles’ steady pounding on their nets with a second goal in the second half to cement the win and continue on to the district tournament they’ll host after first-round games at higher seeds.

“We dominated that game, but in soccer, when your timing on a shot is just a hair off,” Gudgeon said, trailing off. “Mountlake Terrace made it a little tough to get off of our crosses, so our runs came in early.”

To top it off, the Hawks’ keeper managed to get his hands on a large number of Arlington’s corner kick opportunities.

The shutout ended Arlington’s season, and with it, the high school careers of eight seniors.

While it was the second shutout Arlington endured to end the season, Gudgeon was still impressed with the improvement and play of his players.

“I told them all one thing to do better and they all did it,” he said. “I think all the kids that made the playoff roster, they pushed us to be better.”

And while the team didn’t make it as far as they might have liked, they met a preseason goal by appearing in the district play-in game. After spending their previous three seasons help ing build the program, including two years at 3A where the team earned easier berths to the district tournament, the seniors on this Arlington team aspired to qualify for their first district tournament at 4A.

“I thanked our seniors for getting us to this district game. That was a huge hurdle they crossed,” Gudgeon added. “Was it disappointing not to move on? Yeah. But I’m proud of my kids.”

Arlington graduates defenders Jacob Krieg, Jimmy Mitzelfeldt and Alex Brittain and midfielders Robert O’Day, Andy Henderson, James Chesnutt, Garrett Meyer and Walter Flores.

Click here for more photos.