Lakewood girls soccer earns first trip to state

DUVAL — It wasn’t easy, but the Cougars secured the first girls soccer state tournament berth in program history with a 1-0 overtime win over Burlington-Edison Nov. 7.

A physical and emotional contest ended with a golden goal by Abby Burke in the last minute before penalty kicks.

“It was a really a tense game,” said Lakewood coach Jeremiah Wolhgemuth. “The wind and sideways rain really brought even more out of the girls — although I think it was to our advantage and frustrated them.”

Burke put the finishing touch on Morgan Rettig’s shot, which credited her with the assist. Rettig ran down a long pass from the midfield, beating a defender and the goalie with a shot that was just wide. Burke was in position, however, to clean up the play and send the Cougars to state.

“It’s a great feeling,” Wohlgemuth said. “I’ve been with this program a long time and I’ve seen conference champions not make it to state — this is special.”

The shutout was the 10th of the season and a school record at Lakewood and for goalkeeper Miranda Head. The junior goalie made nine saves in the match, as an abbreviated Cougars roster came close to matching the Tigers in shots with a 15-13 ratio.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the productivity of our offense these past two games because we’ve been able to stay relatively close in output,” Wohlgemuth said.

Earlier in the week, the Cougars had their first chance to go to state, but lost 1-0 to Sehome in a goal in the second half.

A state tournament berth is no easy accomplishment, especially needing to win one more game with just 12 players, as the Lakewood lost seven to disciplinary rulings and one to injury.

“I know the girls are proud of themselves for accomplishing what they have after what they’ve been through lately,” Wohlgemuth said. “And they should be.”

The win gives Lakewood a 12-3 record overall, and the Cougars played Klahowya Nov. 10 — a day before The Marysville Globe and Arlington Times went to press.