Wildcats' season ends with penalty kick loss to Shorecrest

Oak Harbor girls soccer coach Gretchen Talmadge thought that her teams District match with Shorecrest would be close.

She was right.

It took a penalty shootout to decide who would advance to the third round of the District-1 playoffs. Unfortunately for Talmadge and her team, the Wildcats came out on the losing end of a 3-2 decision Halloween night at Shoreline Stadium.

“We really had the momentum going in, but we didn’t play structured on (Shoreline’s) turf,” lamented Talmadge. “We didn’t play well defensively and we let them come back. On a good day we could have beat them easily.”

Wildcats star forward Katy Nydam was able to give Oak Harbor a 1-0, and 2-1 lead in the first half but the squad was unable to hold on. Highlander freshman Banimi Lawson, who scored Shorecrest’s opening goal, netted the equaliser midway through the second half.

“Katy owned the front of the net,” said Talmadge about her senior striker. “She put both of those goals almost by herself.”

The teams remained deadlocked through the rest of the half and sudden death overtime, forcing a shootout.

“With a shootout you expect to make every shot,” Talmadge said. “They did and we didn’t. I don’t want to take anything away from Shorecrest, they came ready to play.”

With the loss the season is over for the Wildcats. The team finished the year with a 9-5-2 in league, 10-6-2 overall record. Despite the loss, Talmadge was pleased with the year.

“The season overall was very productive,” she said. “Three-fourths of this team are freshmen or sophomores, and I feel bad for the seniors, but this was wonderful experience that will help in the future.”

Despite losing Nydam and three other seniors things should remain on an upswing for Oak Harbor. They have several younger players who will return next year as seasoned veterans, including goalkeeper Devon Shulock, defenders Kaylea Kingma, Hazel Sapida, and forwards Jennifer White and Gretyl Pruss.

“You can’t take away Katy’s skills, work ethic, and leadership, but we do have several players who can step up next year,” acknowledged Talmadge.

By the numbers

Oct. 31, 2001

Shorecrest 3, Oak Harbor 2 (SO)

At Shoreline Stadium

Scoring:

1st half:

OH-Nydam 1(White assist)

S-Lawson 1 (Ruhlman assist)

OH-Nydam 2

2nd half:

S-Lawson 2 (Walsh assist)

Shorecrest wins shootout 5-3

Goalkeepers: OH-Shulock, S-Barnes

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