Catlin Gabel shuts down Marist for ninth straight title
OSAA / U.S. Bank / Les Schwab Tires 3A/2A/1A Girls Final
November 16, 2002 at West Salem High School, Salem, Oregon
(Click on any match photo for a larger (up to 300K) version of each pic)
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GOALS |
| 40' - Catlin Gabel: Lauren Basham (unassisted) |
| 61' - Catlin Gabel: Hilary Fisher (unassisted) |
The Catlin Gabel Eagles, on goals from Lauren Basham and Hilary Fisher, held the Marist Spartans scoreless for the full 80 minutes, and emerged with their ninth straight state championship. This was the Eagles' seventh straight championship game victory by shutout, a 2-0 victory over the Marist Spartans in the title game of the OSAA / U.S. Bank / Les Schwab Tires 3A/2A/1A Girls Final.
The Eagles controlled the ball for the first 20 minutes of the match, but off several corner kicks and dangerous crosses into the box could not produce a goal, though they did get very close when a header in the 10th minute was cleared off the line by a Marist defender. In the 20th minute, the Eagles had a golden opportunity when a cross to the feet of Lauren Basham had the midfielder open near the penalty spot, but Basham was unable to do more than deflect the ball, and the ball trickled harmlessly wide.
Marist had their first good opportunity in the 22nd minute when forward Kallee Apo snuck in behind the Eagles defense, pulling goalkeeper Sara Smith off her line. Apo did manage to tap the ball around Smith, but was unable to control the ball and did not get a shot on net. In the 29th minute, the Eagles were on the attack again when Basham's cross into the Spartans box was only kept out of the net by defender Ashley Brumback's last-minute clearance.
The match appeared to be heading into a scoreless intermission, but that dramatically changed just as the first half was about to end. With the clock ticking down, the Eagles took full advantage of a late corner kick when Basham's inswinging kick somehow managed to curl into the net untouched, going just below the bar over the fingers of Spartans goalkeeper Nicky Younger, who appeared to have trouble locating the ball in the crowd in front of the net. But she had not located it quickly enough, and with the clock showing only 14 seconds remaining in the half, the Eagles had grabbed the momentum with a 1-0 halftime lead.
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The Spartans tried to grab the momentum back early in the second half, and while succeeding in keeping Catlin Gabel from widening their lead, they were also having trouble putting any shots at goal themselves. The steadily increasing rain present during the second half did not help the matter much either. In the 51st minute, a Marist cross into the box looked promising until the Eagles goalkeeper punched the ball out of the box. Three minute later, Marist forward Shelby Groshong had a good look at goal from near the top of the box, but her shot was right at Smith, who saved easily.
In the 61st minute, with the rainstorm having blown up to a full gale, the Eagles took advantage of corner kick that the Spartans were unable to clear, when Hilary Fisher knocked the ball into the Marist net off her knee to widen the Catlin Gabel lead to 2-0.
The Spartans may have all of the air taken out of any momentum after the Fisher goal, as they managed no more shots on net. Toby Sokol and Basham both had shots on goal saved by the Spartans goalkeeper to keep the score at 2-0, but the Eagles held the 2-0 lead to the final whistle, and hoisted the championship trophy for the ninth straight time.
Match report and all photos by Allison Andrews