Kickers fall, still eke their way into playoffs

Published 12:00 pm Saturday, October 28, 2006

Bainbridge opens vs. Prep

The Bainbridge girls soccer team made it to the Metro League tournament, but they needed some luck to get there.

Needing one win over the last four games to ensure a playoff spot, the Spartans lost to Eastside Catholic 2-1 last Tuesday, tied Holy Names last Thursday, then dropped their final two games at home to Lakeside and Seattle Prep.

But because the Crusaders lost to Bishop Blanchet 3-2 Thursday, Bainbridge gets to face Prep again in the Metro tournament.

“It’s been tough,” head coach Anh Tran said. “Lakeside and Seattle Prep are the two top dogs. But we tied Holy Names and we thought we could win that game.”

The Spartans didn’t score a goal in their last two contests and didn’t get many opportunities to score on Thursday against the Panthers.

Seattle Prep had several corner kicks, but didn’t get anything until the 39th minute when Ashley Hogan scored from 15 yards out.

In the 62nd minute, Pfeiffer Bloecker scored from 10 yards out in between several defenders to put Prep up for good. Hogan scored later to cap it off.

Lindsey Montoya was disappointed with the loss on Senior Night, and said they’ve struggled without Zena Hemmen and Maureen Callahan in the lineup.

“It’s been really tough not having Zena and Mo on the field,” she said. “We lost our whole midfield. We do fine on defense and our forwards can keep the ball, but we’re not talking out there.”

Still, she and the rest of the team are determined to not let their season end this way.

“We all want to move on so we’re just going to beat Prep in the playoffs,” Montoya said. “That’s what’s going to happen.”

Tran said they’ll be ready for Prep again.

“The silver lining in the clouds is that we’re a tournament team,” he said. “This kind of stuff, you just go back to the drawing board and start all over again.

Callahan, who only played a few minutes in the beginning of Thursday’s game, is questionable for the playoff game.

The Spartans finished with a regular season record of 9-6-1.

They play the Panthers Monday at the Southwest Athletic Complex at Chief Sealth High School. Game time is at 7 p.m.