Chiawana falls to Ferris 1-0 in 4A state soccer playoffs

The Ferris Saxons learned their lesson last week in a regional semifinal loss to Chiawana: keep a watchful eye on Riverhawks forward Summer Yates.

Using a smothering defense and an early goal from Sydney Clements, the Saxons held off the Riverhawks 1-0 on Tuesday night in the first round of the Class 4A state soccer playoffs in Pasco.

“I thought we played well enough, we just couldn’t find the net,” Chiawana coach Rich Zoller said. “We needed to score to give us some confidence. It’s not a good feeling knowing it’s your last game and you see your seniors go. It’s a tough one.”

Ferris will play in the second round against the winner of today’s Puyallup-West Valley (Yakima) match.

Yates, who burned the Saxons (11-8) for two second-half goals in a 2-1 win last week, had two defenders on her most of the match.

“We didn’t play that much differently,” Ferris coach Robin Crain said. “We had a one-goal lead in the regional game and (Yates) took over. Today, we didn’t let that happen, and we were aggressive winning 50/50 balls.”

The Riverhawks (12-7), making their first state appearance since 2010, had the first scoring chance of the night at 3:17, but Ferris keeper Chrissy Fitzgerald scooped up Braydey Hodgins’ shot.

Ferris’ McKenna Cutler and Clements each had a shot on goal before Clements found the net at 12:55 from 18 yards out.

“It was a corner kick that got sent in (by Alexis Murphy),” Clements said. “I saw an open net and curled it in the upper left corner. We knew what we were coming up against. It was great to get the win and know that we get to keep playing.”

With 15:20 left in the first half, the Riverhawks looked to even the score as Yates fed the ball to Hodgins in front of the goal, but the Ferris defense was there to help its keeper and turn play the other direction.

Just a minute into the second half, McKenna Cutler got behind the Chiawana defense and fired the ball toward the goal. The ball went off the crossbar, keeping the game 1-0.

Toward the end of regulation, Justice Aragon threaded the ball through the Faxons’ defense to Yates, who got stopped at the left post. The Riverhawks had two more opportunities in extra time, but just could get anything past Fitzgerald, who finished with three saves.

“Our defense played really well tonight,” Crain said. “Their No. 10 (Yates) is the best we’ve seen and we shut her down.”

The Riverhawks lose six seniors off this year’s team, including keeper Cydni Cottrell, who had seven saves on the night.

“I’m really proud of the girls,” Zoller said. “We played hard; we just didn’t get it done.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Chiawana falls to Ferris 1-0 in 4A state soccer playoffs."