Unintimidated, the Oak Harbor High School girls soccer team battled the defending state 3A champions to the end before falling 2-1 to Edmonds-Woodway at Wildcat Memorial Stadium Thursday, Sept. 24.

The win enabled the Warriors to stay atop the Wesco standings with a 3-0 record, 5-1-1 overall. Oak Harbor slipped to 0-3 and 2-3-1.

Oak Harbor stunned the Warriors by scoring in the first 30 seconds. Gillian Crossley deflected a pass that bounced to Jenna Cooley. Cooley then punched the ball into the lower right corner for the goal.

The Wildcats held their own for the next 20 minutes, then Edmonds-Woodway scored on a questionable penalty kick, according to Oak Harbor coach Mike Lonborg.

“That tied it up until half time and changed the momentum,” Lonborg said.

The Warriors dominated possession after the break and then took advantage of an Oak Harbor miscue midway through the second half to score the game winner.

“We made a mistake high,” Lonborg said, “and they got a through ball and scored.”

The Wildcats tried to rally but couldn’t produce the tying goal.

“Solid effort and a lot of heart from the girls, but we are having a hard time scoring right now,” Lonborg said. “Caylie Etherington played another great game as did Kyra McConaghy, who has moved from midfield into the defensive line with an injury to one of the starting defenders.”

Oak Harbor goes to Anacortes (1-6) for a non-league match at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, and then returns home to meet Arlington (1-2, 4-3) at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28.

(Oak Harbor goalie Ebony Campbell boots the ball for the Wildcats. Photo by John Fisken.)