Redmond High head coach Stacy Masters had never seen anything like it before. Fifteen rounds of penalty kicks.
The Mustang girls soccer squad received a super save from sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Thomas and a 13-12 PK advantage to kick its way into the 4A state tournament with a 2-1 victory over Jackson High in the Wes-King District tournament on Tuesday night.
Following Redmond senior Vanessa Almada’s PK, Thomas displayed her heroics with a diving save of a shot headed toward the upper V to give the Mustangs the thrilling victory. Thomas had two more saves as well.
Next up is the district title match against Issaquah at 7 p.m. Thursday at Issaquah High. Both Redmond and Issaquah — a 3-0 victor over Lake Stevens on Tuesday — have qualified for state.
On Tuesday, Jackson scored first in the 60th minute and Redmond equalized in the 70th minute on a header from freshman Aspen Sullivan off a stellar cross from senior Taylor Pisan. Standouts on defense for Redmond to keep things tight were senior Maya Fleming and junior Reece Wharton along with Thomas.
“We knew coming back to play in 4A was going to be a challenge,” Masters said. “They believed in each other and they worked hard for each other like no other team I’ve ever coached.”
Redmond finished 4A KingCo play with a 5-1-3 record and is 9-2-1 overall. Leading the way on offense during the regular season were seniors Lindsey Honhart with five goals and four assists, Lily Chirichigno with five goals and three assists and Pisan with five goals and two assists.
Masters added that it’s a special team that gives her goosebumps when she thinks of what they’ve achieved this season.
“We treated each game as if it was a playoff game — and here we are,” she said. “I’m so proud of them for doing the work that has put them in this position.”
On the all-league list, Pisan is a first-teamer; Honhart, Fleming and Chrichigno are second-teamers; and honorable mentions are Almada, Thomas, Izzy Bach-Lefler and Allison Nakamura.