Olympia slips past Titans

The Olympia boys soccer team didn’t have to be the best, they just had to be lucky.

Senior midfielder Cole Davis scored on a fluke shot in the fourth minute that rolled just beyond University (10-6) goalkeeper Ryan Dixon’s reach and the Bears (12-5) held on to beat the Titans 1-0 Tuesday night in the first round of the State 4A tournament at University.

“I really didn’t think when I kicked it that it was going to get past their goalkeeper,” Davis said. “And the way the game ended up, it’s lucky that it did go in, because you could tell he wasn’t going to let anything else get by him.”

Which was true after the lone goal of the game.

Dixon recorded six saves – three of them incredibly close calls. The standout junior goalkeeper saved two shots in the final minutes of the game – pulling one shot down that was just below the crossbar and stopping a one-on-one situation with forward Jasper Knox.

“Their goalkeeper was pretty phenomenal,” Olympia coach Colin Stewart said. “I feel pretty good that we even got one past him.”

For the Titans’ offense, it couldn’t have been any more frustrating. They outshot the Bears 10-8, but failed to take advantage of four corner-kick opportunities and a handful of shots inside the box.

U-Hi senior midfielder Bill McElroy nearly scored midway through the first half when he dribbled past two defenders and took a close shot at the lower right corner.

But Olympia goalkeeper Trenton Fletch had an answer for all of the shots the Titans hammered at him, including shots from Titan forwards Evan Frobe and Aaron Anderberg and midfielders Michael Ramos and Brad Maier.

“They definitely challenged us on defense tonight,” Stewart said. “There were a couple times that involved some skill on Trenton’s part but also a lot of luck that they didn’t go in.”

With the loss, the Titans finished with one of the most successful seasons in school history. U-Hi coach Kevin Houston had mixed emotions after the performance.

“On one hand I look at all the positive things we had to do to get to this point,” Houston said. “Just getting to state and playing the way we did all season was a big accomplishment and I feel very proud of that.

“The other part is disappointment. When you lose to a team that you don’t feel necessarily outplayed you, it’s tough. They came out and capitalized on us not coming out as strong at first. Normally, the way we play, that was never going to be a goal.”

Olympia will meet Pasco – a 1-0 winner over Davis.