Bothell beats Inglemoor 2-1 in season finale, both teams advance to KingCo tournament

The Inglemoor High girls soccer team lost to Bothell, 2-1, at Pop Keeney Stadium.

By John William Howard • October 26, 2016 1:45 am
Bothell sophomore Kaitlin Bean (6) gets a cross past Inglemoor’s Nicole VanEnglen (3) in the second half of Tuesday’s 2-1 Bothell win at Pop Keeney Stadium. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Bothell-Kenmore Reporter
Bothell sophomore Kaitlin Bean (6) gets a cross past Inglemoor’s Nicole VanEnglen (3) in the second half of Tuesday’s 2-1 Bothell win at Pop Keeney Stadium. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Bothell-Kenmore Reporter

The Inglemoor High girls soccer team lost to Bothell, 2-1, at Pop Keeney Stadium.

Goals from Bothell’s Antonia Miranda and Kaitlin Bean erased an early score from Inglemoor’s Sadie Sheller, but it didn’t matter: Inglemoor had qualified for the conference tournament with the No. 6 seed.

All the Vikings needed on Tuesday evening was likely conference victory for Issaquah. The Eagles delivered, blasting Newport 7-0.

“It’s the second season,” said Inglemoor coach Kent Nelke.

Nelke has reason for hope. The Vikings (2-12-1 KingCo, 2-13-2) have battled injuries this season, and are finally reaching a healthy point in the year.

Of Nelke’s 19 players, 11 have missed at least one game for illness or injury. The Vikings have used 13 starting lineups in 16 matches.

“It’s been constantly in flux,” Nelke said. “These two would come back, then those two would get hurt. Those two would come back and these two would get sick.”

Finding consistency has been a problem, and Nelke joked that he wouldn’t be sure of a starting lineup for the conference tournament match on Oct. 31 against Woodinville until the day of the game.

Woodinville beat Inglemoor 2-0 on Oct. 11 and 7-1 on Sept. 17.

For Bothell (6-7-1, 6-9-1) the regular season ends on a high note. The Cougars are unbeaten in the last three matches and have won four of the last five.

Bothell has also scored in 10 of the last 12 matches after going goalless in the first four matches of the year.

“We struggled winning the ball out of the air in the first half [of the season,] and now we’ve been competitive in the air at midfield, we’ve been organized in marking and we have playmakers that can get us assists,” said Bothell coach Shaun Warner. “It’s changed a lot for us.”

The Cougars equalized in the 38th minute when Miranda tapped in a score during a scrum in the 6-yard box. The game-winner came in the 68th minute.

Bothell will also be in action in the first round of the conference tournament at 7 p.m. on Oct. 31 at Eastlake High School. The Wolves beat Bothell 5-0 on Oct. 13, and 2-1 on Sept. 20.

The winners of the matches on Oct. 31 advance to the conference semifinal on Nov. 3.