Michael Roberts didn’t hesitate.
When asked how Issaquah overcame two ferocious surges by highly-ranked Garfield to earn a 2-1 victory on Tuesday, the senior turned to the to the phrase plastered across Issaquah’s stadium.
“Right there, it’s about ‘Pride and Tradition,'” he said, pointing at the purple and yellow words stretched across the top of the bleachers. “We’ve always got that, that’s one of the biggest and helpful things for us.”
Roberts scored both goals, helping the Eagles extend their home unbeaten streak to 16 games and more importantly lock up the No. 3 seed headed into this weekend’s KingCo 4A playoffs. Garfield was bumped to the No. 4 position.
Roberts’ biggest score came in the 70th minute with the game tied 1-1. Taking a drop from Zach Lawless, Roberts maneuvered past a crowd of defenders in the box and blasted the ball into the net.
“Just to collect, get through traffic and finish — that’s world class,” head coach Jason Lichtenberger said.
His first goal came with roughly 30 seconds left in the first half and with a 1-0 deficit. Taking a throw-in from Nick Smith, Drew Tacher tapped the ball to Roberts with his head. Roberts one-touched the ball over a defender’s foot and drilled a shot into the upper right corner to tie the game.
“I just kept telling the guys, ‘It’s going to come, it’s going to come,'” Lichtenberger said. “I was glad we got before halftime.”
Garfield, which scored its goal in 6th minute, started the second half just like it started the game — fast and agressive. The Bulldogs unloaded on the net 10 times in the second half, narrowly missing on several occasions.
The Eagles survived the surge, however, turning the momentum in their favor in the final 20 minutes.
Goalkeeper Nathan King had five of his six saves in the second half, including a huge stop off the foot of Aaron Kovar in the 76th minute. The Bulldogs’ star player unleashed on a free kick from 25 yards out on the right side of the field. King sprawled out to horizontally to block the ball.
“I figured he was going to bend it, so I’ll give him a little room to my left side and that’s where he put it,” King said. “I got kind of lucky with him putting it there, but I was confident I could make the save.”
The victory moved Issaquah to 7-2-1 in league and 11-2-3 overall. As the No. 3 seed they will host the sixth seed, Redmond or Inglemoor, at 7 p.m. Saturday in a loser out game. The winner of that game will face Newport or Garfield at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 10 in another loser-out game at Eastlake. The winner of that game will host the No. 3 WesCo team on Saturday, May 14 for the final state playoff berth.
“We came in and nobody really thought we were going to be anything because we lost so many seniors last year,” Roberts said. “We ended up third place in KingCo and I think that shows that it’s not about the kind players you have, it’s about heart on the team.”
Skyline survives scare from Woodinville
It was closer than they would have liked, but Skyline escaped with a key 2-1 overtime victory over Woodinville Tuesday night.
Kyle Olmstead scored the winning goal in the 83rd minute, boosting the Spartans to the second seed in the KingCo 4A and a championship matchup with Eastlake at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 10 at EHS.
A loss would have forced a tiebreaker game on Thursday with Issaquah.
Jake Bechtel gave the Spartans their first lead in the 13th minute on an unassisted goal. Woodinville tied the game in the 61st minute.
Skyline improved to 8-1-1 in league and 12-1-2 overall.
Eastlake closes out regular season strong
Eastlake secured the top seed in the KingCo 4A Tuesday night, beating Inglemoor 2-0.
Sean Klauer scored both goals for the Wolves, knocking in shots in the 18th and 48th minutes. Sam Langston and James Gee had the assists as the Wolves improved to 8-1-1 in league and 9-3-2 overall.
As the top seed, Eastlake will host the KingCo 4A championship at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 10 against Skyline.
