By Don Nelson
The Liberty Bell High School girls’ soccer team is back in the state tournament for the fourth consecutive year, hoping for a return trip to Sumner and another shot at the championship.
The Mountain Lions guaranteed their spot in the eight-team tournament with a dramatic 1-0 win over Okanogan on Nov. 3 in he 1B/2B District 5/6/7 playoffs. Okanogan, which went undefeated in league play, had beaten Liberty Bell twice during the regular season, 3-0 and 2-0.
This time it was Okanogan on the “nil” side of things, as Aden Jones scored the only goal Liberty Bell needed for the victory. The assist came from goalkeeper Lauren Ochoa — an unusual combination.
“It was a great team effort,” said coach Lincoln Post. “Everyone had a really solid day.”
Post said the Lady Lions have been making steady improvement throughout the season, and it showed against Okanogan.
In the District 5/6/7 championship game on Saturday (Nov. 7), Liberty Bell lost to Warden, 3-2, at the Apple Bowl in Wenatchee, but still qualified for the state tournament as the second-place team in district playoffs. Okanogan won its second game as well, 2-1 over Tonasket, and will also play in the state tournament as the No.3 team from District 5/6/7.
Post said the Warden game was within Liberty Bell’s reach. Jones and Cassidy Butler scored first-half goals to give the Lady Lions a 2-1 lead at halftime. But Warden came back with two second-half goals to claim the district title.
“I felt like we outplayed them [Warden],” Post said. “But we weren’t able to put it all together.”
“We’re disappointed, but we’re still in the running,” Post said.
Liberty Bell will play Crosspoint Academy of Bremerton in the first round of the state tournament. The Lady Lions will travel to the west side for the game, which will be played at South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 14), Liberty Bell Athletic Director Chase Rost said Monday (Nov. 9).
That will be a rematch of last year’s state championship game, in which Crosspoint defeated Liberty Bell, 5-1.
If the Lady Lions make it past Crosspoint, they advance to the 1B/2B final four at Sumner for the fourth consecutive year. The finals will be on Nov. 20-21.
There, the Lady Lions would play the winner of the round-of-eight game between Ocosta and La Conner.
The Lady Lions finished second last year, third the previous year, and fourth the year before that in the state finals.
There’s a chance Liberty Bell could face Okanogan one more time. If the Mountain Lions and Okanogan both win their next two games, they will face off for the state championship.
