PK's the Difference in Win

On Wednesday afternoon, a defensive battle between Everett and Skagit Valley came down to capitalizing on penalty kicks.  The first half was a tale of two strong defenses.  Skagit applied steady pressure especially in the first 20 minutes, but the Trojan defense held strong.  The Cardinals recorded six shots, but only two of which were on goal and sophomore goalkeeper for the Trojans, Emma Allison was able to save both without too much strain.  Everett offensively did not get much going with only 4 shots, none of which challenged the Skagit Valley keeper to make a save.

In the second half, it was more defense, but the Cardinals began to challenge Allison and forced two great saves.  The first came in the 66th minute off of a set piece ball that came into the box and found a Cardinal head, but a quick reaction allowed Allison to punch the ball away.  Then, most signifcantly was the save in the 70th minute when a Trojan defender was called for a hand ball in the penalty box, setting up a penalty kick.  Freshman Ella Hove took the shot, but Allison again with a quick reaction to her right, punched the ball away and out of play.  

From that point momentum in the game shifted, and it would be the Trojans that would draw a penalty kick in the 80th minute.  Leading goal scorer for the Trojans, Emily Marriott (already 2 for 2 on the season for penalty kicks) took the shot and placed a beautifully low shot inside the left post to give EvCC a 1-0 lead. 

The nail in the coffin happened 8 minutes later when a Skagit defender mis-played a ball, and Emily Marriott capitalized, scoring her 2nd goal of the game and her 9th of the year.  With the two goals, Emily is tied for 2nd for the most goals scored in the NWAC.

The Trojans are now firmly in 2nd place, two points behind first place Peninsula, and five points ahead of 3rd place Whatcom.  A huge game is on slate for this Saturday when Everett hosts Peninsula with control of first place in the North Region Standings on the line.  Kick off is set for noon at Kasch Park.