Against Tonasket, Liberty Bell’s Haley Post, No. 22, passed toward Josephine Cole, No. 11, as Tommie Ochoa, No. 8, followed the play.
By Don Nelson
The road to Sumner goes through Spokane for the Liberty Bell High School girls’ soccer team.
The Lady Lions will play defending state champion St. George’s on the Gonzaga Prep campus Friday (Nov. 10) starting at 2 p.m. in the round of eight in the 1B/2B state tournament. The winner of the Liberty Bell/St. George’s match will move on to the final four in Sumner on Nov. 17 – 18.
The Lady Lions made it to Sumner last year, where they finished fourth in the state after losing to St. George’s and Adna.
Liberty Bell advanced as the No. 2 seed from District 5/6 after losing a stirring match against No. 1 seed Brewster last Saturday (Nov. 4). As District 5/6 champion, undefeated Brewster will host Crosspoint on Saturday in another quarterfinals match.
Should both Liberty Bell and Brewster win on Saturday, they will meet for the fourth time this season in the semifinals round at Sumner.
All three Liberty Bell-Brewster games have been close and hard-fought, with the Bears winning the first two by 2-1 and 4-2. Saturday’s showdown turned into an epic match that ended 1-1 in regular play, stayed tied in overtime, and was finally settled in a shootout won by Brewster.
“It was one of those games where you’re proud of everyone on the field from both teams,” Liberty Bell coach Lincoln Post said. “Everyone was all in. Brewster scored first and we tied it up with a goal from Haley Post. It came down to a shootout. Anna Post scored and Lauren Ochoa made a great save, but Brewster prevailed to keep their undefeated season.”
Liberty Bell earned the match against Brewster with a 7-3 playoff win against Tonasket on Halloween. Sally Thornton-White scored four goals for the Lady Lions, including one on a free kick and another on an intercepted pass by the Tonasket goalkeeper, coach Post said. Haley Post scored two times and Willow Temple added a goal as well in the home-field match.
“Our offense had a really strong game,” the coach said.
