M-P stays unbeaten against Arlington

Last year, Arlington soccer spoiled M-P’s chance for an outright conference championship.

ARLINGTON — Last year, Arlington soccer spoiled M-P’s chance for an outright conference championship.

That game wasn’t far from the minds of the returning Tomahawk players, who got their revenge with a 3-1 win on Arlington’s home field April 17.

“They made it that much harder to get to state,” said M-P senior John Crenshaw, who played on that team and scored two goals in the Tommies’ winning effort.

Crenshaw scored his first goal in the 28th minute, going head-to-head with Arlington goaltender Cory Ferris, who was drawn out of the net for the keeper. Crenshaw beat him to the ball for a 1-0 Marysville lead. Unassisted, Arlington junior Jake Smith evened the score eight minutes later, but Crenshaw scored again on Ferris with less than a minute before halftime, driving up the left sideline.

Arlington came out of the locker room to the chant of “Our house,” but despite a heartfelt effort in the second half — including chasing out-of-bounds Tomahawk possessions to keep up the pace of game — it was Marysville who scored the only goal in the second half, as Brady Ballew arched a free kick over the Arlington wall and past second-half Arlington keeper Corbin Anderson.

“Over the last few games, we really pulled together as a team,” said Arlington coach Mike Gudgeon. “Marysville is a really tough team and I feel we played right with them.”

With the win, Tomahawk coach Geoff Kittle’s team remained undefeated through their 10th game of the season. The game was also Crenshaw’s 10th in a row with at least one goal.

“We were pretty focused on beating them,” Kittle said. “I think our guys did want to come out here and prove a point, that they can take care of business against a team like this.”