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50th minute
of play. Shoreline’s only goal
came at the game’s closing stages
when team captain Amanda Zueger
scored in the 88th minute to
set the final score at 2-1.
“[The team] was pretty upset
for the most part,” said Szabo of
the loss.
“I think the frustrating part
for them was that they knew each
and every one of them could have
played better. I don’t think anybody
had a game that they could
walk away from and say ‘I played
very well’. I think that was a tough
thing for them.”
Fortunately, the next day’s third
place consolation game against
Highline Community College saw
a different result for SCC. After
a somewhat shaky start that saw
Highline not capitalizing on its opportunities
at goal, SCC settled in
to control the match midway into
the first half.
SCC’s Julee Thomas was the
first player from either squad to
find the back of the net. Brittany
Willis’ free kick from nearly 40
yards off-goal found itself through
the clutter at the top of the box and
at Thomas’s feet. Thomas was able
to send the ball to the goal, despite
being no more than a few feet from
a charging Highline keeper.
The goal set Shoreline up with
a lead for the remainder of the
game. A broken ankle suffered
by Highline’s Maria Mazur in the
50th minute demoralized Highline
further and gave Shoreline
full control of the game’s momentum.
Without a substitute for Mazur,
Highline was forced to play
the remainder of the game with 10
players.
“One of the toughest things
about athletics is seeing someone
get injured,” said Szabo. “[Ma-
zur] was one of Highline’s harder
working players; one of their better
players. I think it was very demoralizing
and very difficult for
their team to handle but whether
she went down with the injury or
not, I think the end result was going
to be a win for us.”
Even after Szabo willingly
downsized the team to 10 players
after the injury, Shoreline found
a push in their offense. Shoreline
doubled its lead in the 53rd minute
when Brittany Chase headed a
corner from Amanda Zueger past
the keeper.
The game’s final goal came 20
minutes later when SCC’s Cassie
Foust placed Sarah Bingisser’s
pass between the keeper and the
right post to push the final score
to 3-0.
“It’s a tough game (to play),”
said Szabo of the third place game.
“It’s hard to motivate players to
come out and play for something
that doesn’t mean that much after
a big, disappointing loss in the
semifinals.”
“I give my girls a lot of credit
for coming out and showing more
energy and pride than the Highline
team and playing a better
game than the day before.”
The win gave Shoreline a thirdplace
finish in the NWAACC for
2007 to go with the NWAACC
North Division regular season
crown they had previously won–
both are extraordinary achievements,
considering that the team
almost played the entire season
with a roster of only 11 players
and no substitutes.
“There were some moments
along the way that made it a
bumpy ride, but it was a really
great year,” said Szabo as he reflected
on the season.
“In the end, it was the testament
to the 11 girls that walked
off the field at the end of the year.
Seeing what they achieved with
the players and the numbers they
had, I’m very happy because they
did it both academically and athletically.”
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