BLAINE — Meridian girls soccer clinched a spot in the state tournament after a 3-0 win over Lynden Christian in a rematch of last year’s 1A District 1 championship game on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at Blaine High School.
It was the Trojans’ first district title in its last eight appearances — dating back to 2009. Lynden Christian, which won last year’s district title game 3-0, will now face Blaine in a winner-to-state, loser-out match on Saturday, Nov. 4.
On Wednesday, second-seeded Meridian (10-5-1) faced a top-seeded Lynden Christian (8-9) team that had won nine out of its last 10 games. The teams split their two regular-season matchups.
Lynden Christian goalie Jessa Wynstra started the game with multiple big-time saves to keep the score locked at 0-0 early, but Meridian dominated the possession and got chance after chance early on.
Wynstra had an answer for every shot until the 33rd minute when a late tackle gave Meridian a penalty.
Sofia Brooks calmly stepped up and converted the penalty to give them a 1-0 lead before the break. After the penalty goal, the game opened up and each team traded big chances a minute after the opener with another great Wynstra save.
Meridian prevented Lynden Christian from gaining any momentum in the first half as the Trojans’ midfield was first to nearly every ball and controlled the tempo.
Meridian head coach Maddi Nolton and her assistant coach Bella Foos had praise for every player on the team.
“We had a couple of senior midfielders who worked really hard to win every ball out of the air,” Nolton said. “They just put their all out there today and I’m really proud of them,” she said.
In the second half, the Trojans went back to work dominating the middle of the field.
In the 54th minute, Meridian got a free kick right outside the box. Midfielder Morgan Adams won the ball in the air and ripped a shot that was blocked. Adams rebounded and slammed home the second attempt to double the Trojans’ lead at 2-0.
Lynden Christian responded with a higher sense of urgency, but Meridian still controlled the pace. In the 80th minute, Meridian senior Erica Stotts was first to a ball over the top and finished the goal to cap a 3-0 victory.
Nolton looks forward to a state tournament run and plans for the team to prioritize rest in the next week before the seeding comes out.
Lynden Christian head coach Brent DeRuyter looked at a loss with optimism because the Lyncs still have something to play for.
“We need to fix our minds,” DeRuyter said. “Once we do that and play with confidence, we will be OK.”
DeRuyter is confident his team will bounce back like they did earlier this year after beginning the season with seven straight losses before finishing first in league. If his team gets back to doing what got them there, they will be fine, he said.
Lynden Christian will travel to Blaine at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4 for the district’s final state berth. Meridian will await state seeding.
A previous version of this story misnamed the second goal scorer. Meridian’s Morgan Adams scored the goal, not Jovi Jensen. Cascadia Daily News regrets this error.
