The Viking boys soccer team is tied for third place in the Northwest 2B league, with a record of 2-4 in league and 4-7 in non-league play.
Coach Matt Stolmeier is pleased with the boys’ improvement over the season, evident in a recent Oct. 12 game against league champions La Conner, ranked #1 in the state.
Once…
The team had just gained its first league win in roughly 18 months against Cedar Park Christian on Oct. 8, with a score of 2-3.
“We knew going into that game that it was going to be really hard fought,” said Stolmeier. “Going by La Conner stats we knew we probably weren’t going to win, so we set a goal of shutting them down and playing solid defense.”
La Conner tromped Orcas 10 to 1 the last time the teams tangled; this time the Braves were startled to find themselves up against a formidable foe.
“We kind of caught them off guard,” said Stolmeier. “They were getting a bit frustrated with us, which felt good because they pummeled us the first game.” The Vikings held the Braves to whisker-close 2-1 win, with La Conner scoreless until the second half. Stolmeier said it was the first time this season La Conner had been held to a mere one-goal victory.
Twice…
On Oct. 15 the Vikings shut out Mount Vernon Christian 3-0 for a second league win.
“That’s only the second time in 20 years that we’ve beaten that team, and I’m not sure we’ve ever shut them out,” said Stolmeier.
Rhys Thompson scored the first goal, assisted by Christopher Ghazel in the first half.
During the second half Alex Zbarik scored twice, assisted both times by Thompson.
“Overall, it was a big team effort; everybody played really hard and were passing well, creating smart plays, being aggressive throughout the game,” said Stolmeier. “(Keeper) Alex Rogers kept a clean sheet. Our defense was rally swarming around the ball… the whole team moving together up the field, working together on defense, really distributing the ball well. It was what we’ve been practicing all season.”
An improving Lopez team narrowly defeated the Vikings the next day, Oct. 16, in Orcas’ third game of the week.
“The boys were pretty exhausted,” said Stolmeier. The match was a non-league game, with the teams battling it out for island pride. The score was 0-0 until the last six minutes, when the Lobos surged down to score twice in quick succession.
“That was one of (the Lopez coach’s) goals for the season, to get Orcas twice,” said Stolmeier. “We used to dominate them pretty easily in years past. The last couple of years they’ve really stepped it up. It’s great to see Lopez picking up their game.”
And thrice…
On Oct. 19 the team notched up its third league win against Grace Academy, 3-1. Christopher Ghazel, the team’s leading scorer with 11 goals this season, fired in all three goals for a “hat trick” (three goals in one game).
“It was the first of his career; he was pretty stoked about that,” said Stolmeier.
And a playoff berth?
The team has two league games ahead of them, against Cedar Park Christian this Thursday and Shoreline on Friday.
Currently tied with Mount Vernon Christian for third place in playoffs, Orcas needs to win at least one of those games in order to toe off against MVC in a tie-breaker for a playoff berth.
“Who knows? It’s gonna be tight to the end,” said Stolmeier.
