Freshman Jakob Middlebrooks scored the decisive goal with two minutes left on the clock, leading Auburn Riverside to a 3-2 win over Glacier Peak in a state Class 3A boys soccer quarterfinal playoff Saturday at Snohomish Stadium.
The Ravens (16-4-1) play Interlake (13-2-1) at 2 p.m. Friday at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. It is Auburn Riverside’s first final four appearance since 2002 under coach Robyn Saarenas.
Ballard (15-2-1) plays Garfield (13-3-2) in the other semifinal at 4 p.m. Friday. The final kicks off at 2 p.m. next Saturday at Sparks.
Against the Grizzlies, the Ravens shot out to 2-0 lead at halftime on goals by Jordan Loomans – on a Corey Brinkman assist – and Dale Galaviz.
Glacier Peak evened it up with goals by Riley Prescott and Alex Bergstrom on an assist by Cage Roberge.
“You’re never safe with a 2-0 lead,” Saarenas told the Everett Herald. “They put on the pressure after halftime, and we expected it. We just didn’t manage it very well. But one thing we’ve always known for this year is we’ve never gotten flustered when things don’t go our way. Today we kept our heads level and showed a lot of heart at the end of the game. I think we turned it back on again when we realized we still had time left and the game wasn’t over.”