Mead Bid Flies Away In Shootout Panthers To Play For Third Place After Wind-Blown Loss In Semis

The Mead Panthers’ U.S. Bank/WIAA State AAA girls soccer title dreams blew away in a nightmarish wind Friday night at Shoreline Stadium.

The Panthers fell, 3-2 in a shoot-out, to the Shorecrest Scots.

Mead (19-1) plays Columbia River (18-1) today at 2 p.m. for third and fourth places. Their semifinal win puts the Scots (20-0) into the state title game against defending champion Bellarmine Prep (20-0) at 8 tonight.

“We wanted it,” Mead senior Stacy Clinesmith said. “The kicks just didn’t go our way.”

Both goalposts kept the Panthers out of the title game during the shootout. First Missy Strasburg hit the right post on the initial shootout attempt. Shorecrest was perfect on its first four kicks to jump out to a 4-3 lead. Needing to score to keep Mead alive, Allison Beatty hit the left post.

“We figured we could give up one goal against the wind in the first half,” Mead coach Dick Cullen said. “We just made a couple mistakes and gave up two.”

Trailing 2-0, Clinesmith finally put the Panthers on the board 11 minutes into the second half. Beatty set up the goal with a throwin deep into the Shorecrest goal mouth. The ball bounced past one defender to Clinesmith with only the keeper to beat.

Clinesmith tied the game with just 12:30 remaining in the second half off an assist from Jen Dunford.

Mead keeper Holly Vanwert, with the wind gusting into her face, kept the Panthers in the game early in the first overtime. Scot forward Sierra Marsh broke free for a oneon-one. Vanwert came off her line and made a sliding deflection, knocking the ball over the end line.

The Scots blasted three more shots, but Vanwert denied Shorecrest, saving all three.

Shorecrest took advantage of the wind in the first half. Senior Pam Raurk dumped a 20-yard shot over the head of Vanwert just 8 minutes, 7 seconds into the match.

The wind cost the Panthers again just moments later. Mead failed to clear a goal kick out of its end against the gusting wind. Sierra Marsh jumped on the opportunity. She gathered in the ball, which Vanwert misplayed, and tapped it into the open net for a 2-0 lead with 23:40 left in the half.

Despite fighting the wind, which kept the flags stiff, the Panthers allowed the Scots just three shots in the first half.