Vashon boys soccer finished last week just shy of clinching second place in the Nisqually League.
With a little help from league champion Charles Wright, Vashon took a step closer to second on Tuesday, April 21.
While the Pirates were beating Life Christian 1-0 at home on senior night, the Tarriers were pounding the Orting Cardinals 4-1, putting the Cardinals out of reach of second.
Seniors Thomas Timm-Skove, Nathan Osgood and Quinn Patrick bade farewell to Vashon fans in a short ceremony at halftime when they were honored along with their parents. The seniors each presented their mothers with the traditional yellow rose.
Sophomore Adrian Arceo didn’t waste any time putting the Pirates on the scoreboard. Taking a short pass from Jens Lundblad, Arceo powered the ball past the Eagles’ keeper in the third minute of the game for his fourth goal in as many games.
Life Christian’s surprisingly strong defense and outstanding goalkeeping blanked Vashon the remaining 77 minutes.
Pirate keeper Robert McGin-nis registered his second shutout of the season.
“Solid all the way” was the way head coach Paul Beytebiere described Jesse Turner’s game in the defensive line.
Vashon and Cascade Christian played almost 88 minutes of scoreless soccer on Thursday. A win or just a tie with the Cougars would have clinched second for the Pirates, and they were two minutes from the tie when Brandon Bils broke into the clear to take a pass from Devan Osman and beat McGinnis to give the Cougars a 1-0 overtime decision over the Pirates.
Beytebiere said after the game that Will O’Neil and Michael Butz on defense and Timm-Skove on offense played an outstanding game.
Going into last night’s games Cascade Christian still had a mathematical chance to overtake Vashon for second place. A Vashon win over Orting or a Cougar loss to undefeated Charles Wright gives the Pirates second place and better seeding for the playoffs.
The Pirate JV picked up a 3-2 win at Orting in a game arranged Monday morning. Informed of the game in the middle of the school day, 12 players squeezed into the bus after school for the trip to Orting.
Most of the Orting players learned of the game when they reported for practice after school. The teams played 30-minute halves so Vashon could make it to the 7:20 p.m. ferry home.
Orting took the lead in the 27th minute on a goal by Brian Salazar. The Pirates came alive in the second half, and Ezra Koenig evened it up seven minutes into the half with an assist from Dylan Payne.
Four minutes later Kyle Holten put the Cardinals back in the lead. Sam Crosby got assists from Koenig and Dom Stemer for a goal in the 49th minute.
Less than a minute later an Orting defender handled the ball just in front of the right post. Stemer calmly placed the ball in the back of the net on the ensuing penalty kick to send the Pirates home with the win.
The Pirate JV set the stage for the varsity’s close game when they fought the Cougar JV to a 0-0 tie.
The Pirates outshot the the Cougars, taking more than 20 shots on goal, at least 15 of those in the final 20 minutes. Almost all the Pirate forwards and midfielders got in on the shot-fest, but what the Cougar keeper didn’t save hit the crossbar or posts.
Goalkeeper Logan Lewis registered the shutout for the Pirates.
The JV soccer team returned to Cascade Christian Monday for a rematch after last week’s scoreless tie and returned home with the same
0-0 result. Despite a relentless attack on the Cougars’ goal, the Pirates were unable to get past the keeper.
Cascade Christian did get the ball in the net in the first half, but the goal was disallowed on an offside call.
— Rik Forschmiedt is a volunteer soccer coach and retired Beachcomber sports editor.
