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TUMWATER — The rain fell heavily onto the Tumwater Stadium turf on Tuesday, but not as hard as Montesano’s hearts did when the Bulldogs’ opponent exploded in celebration in front of them.

Locked in a suspenseful sudden-death shootout, Bush’s Heidi Gerstmeyer ended the night by beating Bulldog goalkeeper Siena Reynolds high into the heart of the goal to win this state 1A first-round girls soccer match, 3-3 (7-6).

Gerstmeyer’s conversion on the 10th shootout series sent the Blazers’ squad into a dogpile celebration, joined by the school’s student section soon thereafter. The loss ends the Bulldogs’ season at 15-4.

“It is a tough way to lose,” Montesano coach Jeff Lenherr said. “The girls played hard. The girls held the lead and the momentum changed in 10 minutes. We took it as far as we could in the shootout. It is tough for the seniors. This is the toughest loss I’ve ever had to deal with, because of this group of seniors.”

The District IV and Evergreen 1A League champions held a 2-0 lead early in the second half before the Seattle school erupted for three goals in a five-minute span to flip the script. Montesano regrouped to tie the match with 10 minutes left in regulation and the teams survived the two five-minute overtime periods to usher in the shootout.

Montesano’s Ashlyn Crossan and Sydney Bullington, along with Bush’s Maggie Graham and Erin Harris, converted their shots before the first miss of the shootout. The Bulldogs’ Ali Ohashi went low left to convert, while the Blazers’ Chloe Cross hit the right post for a 3-2 shootout lead for Montesano.

The teams traded conversions — Becca Lane to Phoebe Greenwald — to set up a potential winning shot for the Bulldogs. Up 4-3, Montesano’s Elissa Mendenhall tried the middle of the goal, but Bush goalkeeper Elisa Wilcox saved it. Malya Hirshkowitz converted to tie, 4-4.

The drama intensified with matching conversions and misses on the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth series. Montesano’s Michaela Ecklund and Alyssa Hartman converted, with Bush’s Chloe Johnson and Wilcox matching.



On the 10th shooter, Montesano’s Mackinzie Malizia missed wide right, while Gerstmeyer hit the net just over Reynolds to end the proceedings.

“We had our chances,” Lenherr said. “We had a lot of chances. It comes down to making the most of our opportunities. All the way through the shootout, they made more of them than we did. At this level against this type of competition, you can’t make mistakes. You have to try as hard as you can to play the perfect game.”

The teams were evenly matched in the first half, with the Blazers using a possession-style offense to pressure the Bulldogs. Montesano countered by using its strength in speed up front to run down long balls over Bush’s defenders.

The long balls proved the Bulldogs right in the 14th minute. A long clearance bounced high off the turf over the Blazer defense, with Bullington in pursuit and Wilcox charging out inside the penalty area. The two collided, with Bullington keeping her balance to poke the loose ball into the net.

Both teams had plenty of chances to either extend their lead or get onto the scoreboard in the first half, but play opened up just after halftime.

Bullington stood over a free kick just outside of the penalty box in the 44th minute. The senior sent the kick wide of the three-player wall toward Crossan, who one-touch volleyed the ball past Wilcox for a 2-0 lead.

Bush responded quickly and grabbed the momentum back over a 5-minute span.

Cross started the comeback with a curving rocket shot from 25-yards out, hitting the far right post to beat Reynolds for a 2-1 score in the 48th minute. Ohashi nearly helped Montesano snap the run in the 50th minute when her low cross went through the goalkeeper’s box, but Crossan was shielded before she could shoot at the far right post.

Cross then tied the match in the 51st minute with a clean-up marker when Reynolds couldn’t handle another long shot from Greenwald.

In the 53rd minute, Greenwald sent a outward-curving corner kick into the middle of the penalty area. Sara Hanneman was waiting for the ball, leaping over two Montesano defenders to head the ball in for a 3-2 lead.

The Blazers held the momentum and play until the Bulldogs used a long free kick to tie up the match.

In the 68th minute, Lane sent a 45-yard free kick into the penalty area, where Bullington put a header on it and lobbed it over Wilcox for the tying marker.

Both teams had chances to end the match in regulation, with Bush nearly converting another corner kick and Montesano misfiring on a through ball shot 15 yards out.

It all added up to a suspenseful and heartbreaking finish for the Bulldogs.