By Gerardo Bolong

Focused mental energy kept the home team West Seattle 3A Metro-South girls soccer champions in contention until the team could edge out the Eastside Catholic Crusaders 3-2 after a penalty kick shootout at the Walt Hundley Playfield on Wed., Oct. 24.

The opening 2018 Metro tournament match win sent the Wildcats (11-1-1) into a Sat., Oct. 27, 5 p.m. match up against Seattle Prep at the Southwest Athletic Center. Eastside Catholic moved into a Thurs., Oct. 25 loser-out match at Nathan Hale High School.

"It was a fun game," said West Seattle head coach Todd Vanhuizen. "We prepared for a shootout the last two days. Give all the credit to Eastside Catholic. The game was back and forth. Our girls played hard and came back twice. They rose to the occasion."

In the shootout, Ally Veenhuizen and Mary Frampton matched goals from their Crusader counter parts Lizzie Iwicki and Katie Baxter, respectively.

Julie Anawalt fired home a Wildcat goal in round three before keeper Lexi Foster dove to her left to stop a low, driving kick from the EC shooter.

"I had a feeling which way the shot would go," Foster said. "I was nervous, but I felt better than at practice. In the first half, I was a little stressed, but I had confidence in my team."

Braedon Swanson then matched a goal from Zoe Wilkins in the fourth as WS led 4-3.

"(After falling behind early), we kept a positive mentality throughout the game," recalled Swanson. "None of us is better than all of us because we focused as a team."

Marisa Rackner toed it up and drove the ball into her left corner of the net to end the prolonged struggle.

In the furious opening of the match the outside strikers of the Crusaders led by Iwicki translated the attack into a goal in the second minute of play.

Iwicki and Baxter kept Wildcat defenders busy, but West Seattle held the line and began to open up its passing attack. By the last part of the second half, the Wildcats were storming the gates leading to the Crusader net.

In the 36th minute, Anawalt hit scoring pay dirt with a crossing shot from her right side into the left corner of the net and the game was deadlocked at 1-1.

"I was really hungry for  a goal," she said. "But there were no openings. It was a one touch and was wide open."

One minute later, Foster completed a great save to keep the fray at a standstill at halftime.

The Iwicki-Baxter combo was held more in check in the second half by some slight Wildcat defensive adjustments, but frame of mind was the critical factor.

Anawalt rose to the occasion again to use her outside left foot for a crossing shot from her left side and the ball settled into the left side of the keeper into net as the Westsiders took the lead against the Eastsiders in the 41st minute of action.

Both squads had some good scoring chances, although the Wildcats eventually pushed the Crusader defenders on their heels.

Suddenly, Eastside Catholic's Amy Skochdopole cleared in the midfield and drove forward for the game-equalizing goal in minute 67.

Although the Crusaders gained strong momentum, it was the Wildcats that nearly scored just before the end of regulation play when Anawalt broke free on one of her many rushes toward the Eastside goal.

Her last-minute shot went wide left and the teams battled to no scores in the two five-minute sudden death overtime periods as the prelude to the shootout drama.