Local youth soccer players shine all the way to nationals
July 3, 2012
Midfielder Giovanni Sanchez, of Issaquah, evades Concorde Fire’s defense during a March 23 game in Las Vegas. Eastside FC went on to finish the game with a 2-0 win against the 2011 National Champs. Photo courtesy of Eastside FC
While the high school soccer season has long been over, local members of the Eastside FC 94 Red team still have a full dance card.
After defeating 63 teams to take the Washington State Cup championship for the sixth time in nearly as many years and winning the US Youth Soccer National League Red Division, the players are busy gearing up for the 2012 US Youth Soccer National Championships July 24-29.
“We were all celebrating and jumping up and down,” said Kaleb Strawn, a senior at Skyline High School and a defender for Eastside FC. “It felt good that all our hard work throughout the year paid off and we made it to our main goal of the season.”
Skyline Spartan Pedro Miola brought ‘Latin spirit’ to soccer field
June 26, 2012
Pedro Miola (2), Skyline High School midfielder, battles an Eastlake High School player for the ball in a match during his junior year in April 2011. By Greg Farrar
Dubbed one of the Kardiac Kids by The Seattle Times, Pedro Miola made his mark on school history last year when he scored the game-winning sudden-death goal, advancing the Skyline High School Spartans to the state semifinals for the first time.
Issaquah Soccer Club teams travel to London
June 26, 2012
Kristof Hefty (left), of the Issaquah Soccer Club Gunners U11 team, faces off in a match against a member of Arsenal Academy during the local team’s recent tour in London. By Zheng Li
Four Issaquah Soccer Club teams traveled to London recently for a 10-day soccer tour to learn how the English play the game.
Jimmy Ball, the club’s director of football and coach of four Issaquah premier teams, used to play and coach in England. He said his connections, along with a company called XLTravel that organized airfare, hotel and transportation and coordinated with the academies, allowed the young players to experience English soccer at its best.
“Just watching those premier league games was a great experience for them,” Ball said. “To see live matches — pros playing, the speed of their play and … how they kept the ball so well — was one thing that I was hoping they would learn, and they did.”]
Issaquah Soccer Club debuts Women’s Premier Soccer League teams
June 12, 2012
The Issaquah Soccer Club is promoting two new Women’s Premier Soccer League teams.
One team is playing while the other is provisional but still practices with the club.
The club is off to a promising start of the season, winning two of its first games.
The team premiered with a home game win May 25, 3-0, against Eugene Metro.
The team enjoyed its latest victory June 1 against the Portland Rain, 2-0, at Skyline High School.
Skyline soccer team loses championship title in overtime 4-2 shootout
May 15, 2012
The 4A KingCo championship game between Skyline and Roosevelt high school soccer teams was not decided in regulation play. It also was not decided in the two, five-minute overtime periods.
It all came down to one-on-one penalty kicks.
With no clock, no defenders to contend with and no teammates to help them, it was between shooter and goalie. In the end, Roosevelt won the penalty-kick round, 4-2, and ultimately the KingCo tournament trophy.
Kicking for the Skyline Spartans were Ryan Shim, Sean McDonald, Kaleb Strawn, Pedro Miola and Jason Twaddle. Together, they made 28 of Skyline’s 37 goals this season. McDonald and Strawn each netted a shot for Skyline.
Taking turns with them in the spotlight was Ben Morgan, goalie for the Spartans. Morgan stopped the ball fired by Willie Spurr, a senior forward for Roosevelt. However, the Roughriders’ other four shooters scored, securing the win.
Liberty boys soccer team ends season with 2-1 loss
May 15, 2012
With a 2-1 loss to the Sammamish Totems, Liberty High School’s boys soccer team ended its season in the first round of the KingCo 3A Tournament.
Sammamish’s Miguel Hernandez scored a goal off a Beau Blanchard assist in the 48th minute of the game, while Gio Sanchez added an unassisted goal in the 52nd minute to lead the Totems to the win against the Patriots.
Liberty’s Josh Johnson notched an unassisted goal in the 79th minute for the Patriots.
Skyline wins first soccer championship since 2001
May 8, 2012
Daniel Richardson (left), Skyline High School’s midfielder, tussles with a Woodinville High School player during the May 1 shutout. Richardson scored his first goal of the season in the 30th minute, bringing the half-time score to 2-0. By Lillian Tucker
The Skyline High School boys soccer team made school history last week by becoming the 4A KingCo regular season champs, for the first time.
In a shutout against the Woodinville High School Falcons on May 1, the Skyline Spartans won 3-0. That victory, along with the team’s two-week winning steak brought its conference record to 8-2.
“It feels good to win finally,” said mid-fielder Pedro Miola, a Skyline senior.
Both in 2010 and 2011 the Spartans came in second in the regular season. They then lost the KingCo tournament title to Garfield in 2010 and to Eastlake in 2011. Skyline finished first in 2001, but the school was in the 3A division then.
But there is another reason why the win means so much to the Spartans.
“You guys are going to the state tournament because you won here,” coach Don Braman told the boys after the match.
A crescendo erupted from the post-game huddle that surrounded Braman.
“What I want you to recognize,” said the coach, “is that it took a lot of work to win tonight.”
Soccer tournament to raise funds for fields in Africa
May 1, 2012
Cliff McCrath is surrounded by soccer players in Ethiopia, Africa, in 2009. Contributed
On a 2009 trip to Africa, longtime local soccer coach Cliff McCrath was inspired to improve the lives of teenagers there. Founder of the nonprofit organization Soccer Saves, McCrath partnered with Save the Children in order to visit there.
Fast-forward to today. The Bellevue-based Soccer Saves is hosting a 3 v 3 soccer tournament June 3 at the Preston Park Athletic fields. All funds generated will go directly to build a soccer field and a community- center clubhouse for disadvantaged youths near Cape Town, South Africa.
The top four teams in each age bracket will advance to the 3 v 3 Challenge National Tournament, to be held in the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Florida from Aug. 3-5.
The Soccer Saves 3 v 3 tournament is the only qualifying tournament in the Pacific Northwest for the 3 v 3 Challenge National Tournament.
Liberty Patriots soccer team blanks Mount Si Wildcats, 3-0
April 17, 2012
Darren Tremblay had plenty of reason to be happy.
“It was a total team effort,” the Liberty boys soccer head coach said of the Patriots’ 3-0 win over Mount Si. “Every guy played well.”
The Patriots populated their back lines, playing the Wildcats with a 4-5-1, stifling the creativity of the Mount Si squad at three-fourths of the field. The Wildcats had one shot on goal.
“It’s the only time we do this, when we play Mount Si,” Tremblay said of the tactical formation that puts four defenders, a crowded midfield of five and a lone forward on the pitch. “They play 4-3-3, so there’s nobody out wide and we can match up man-to-man in the middle.”
Quick counterattacks put the Patriots on the board and in a prime position at the start of the second half of the season.
Liberty Patriots get in the win column with back-to-back victories
April 3, 2012
Colton Ronk (23), Liberty High School sophomore midfielder, has the ball pop between his legs in front of him, at the same time he splits between Sammamish High School forwards Tommy Danielsen (left) and Miguel Hernandez. Using the confusion in the next seconds, Ronk scored the double-overtime goal for the 1-0 win. By Greg Farrar
After dropping games against Hazen, Redmond, Mount Si and Bellevue high schools to open the Liberty boys soccer season, the Patriots knew they were due for a win.
With two halves played and less than a minute to go in a double overtime matchup March 27 at Sammamish High School, it looked like the Patriots might have to settle for the tie.
Not on sophomore midfielder Colton Ronk’s watch.
With seconds to spare, Ronk knocked in an unassisted goal — his first this year — and gave Liberty its first win this season.
“We deserved this,” he said. “It feels really great to finally get a win. We have to continue to work really hard in practice and finish well in games.”
Liberty’s junior goalkeeper Nate Mak achieved his first shutout of the season by squashing several attempted offensive strikes from the Totems, who already scored 11 goals in their first three games of the season.
Liberty racked up another successful matchup March 30 in a 2-1 conference win over Lake Washington with two goals scored by senior Scott McLaren, one with an assist from senior Zach Lentini 55 minutes into the game and the other with an assist from junior Oliver Janders 79 minutes into the contest.
