As the 2025 season approaches, the Vashon Pirates boys soccer team, led by new head coach John Thomas and a whole new staff of assistants, has their eyes on a state title.

Last season, one of the most talented squads the team has ever seen just narrowly missed out on a place in the state final after a devastating 1-0 loss to the Royal City Knights. The defeat was capped off by a controversial moment when then-junior Rowan Marceau-Roache scored off of a corner-kick — only to have it disallowed because the referee and his assistant were not on the same page for a substitution.

This season, the Pirates are in an even better position. Having graduated only four seniors from the varsity roster last year, Vashon will retain the bulk of its squad, with the players being one year bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter.

One problem the Pirates faced last year was a lack of regular season challenge. Vashon is part of the Nisqually 1A district, which lacks any serious soccer competition for the Pirates. That meant they could win most matches without too much exertion, building complacency that hurt them when they played more challenging matches.

This year, things are different.

Due to a change in league rules, Vashon is now only required to face each Nisqually 1A opponent once during the regular season, leaving their schedule open for stiffer competition. The Pirates will begin their season facing three out-of-conference opponents, each providing a much higher level of competition.

To open the season, the Pirates host the Bush School Blazers, a 1A school that plays in the Emerald Sound district, which has produced six out of the last seven state winners — including Bush themselves in 2022. Last year, the Blazers ended the season in fourth but won their district tournament, beating the soon-to-be state winners Overlake in the semifinals and the 2023 state winners Seattle Academy in the final. At state, Bush defeated 9th-ranked Highland in the round of 16 and was then routed 4-0 by Cascade Leavenworth in the quarterfinals. Leavenworth would go on to beat Vashon in the 3rd-place match.

Despite a less-than-ideal end to last season, Bush’s top-level soccer experience means they’ll give the Pirates exactly the stiff competition that Vashon needs.

Only two days after hosting the Blazers, the Pirates face arguably their most challenging opponent of the regular season, and probably the only match in which they are considered serious underdogs.

In 2023, the 3A Ballard Beavers made it all the way to the state final, losing to their Mountain Metro district rivals Garfield. Last year, Ballard finished in a respectable third place after being eliminated by the soon-to-be champs Lake Washington. But even if the Pirates cannot defeat this goliath of an opponent, the committee who decides Vashon’s ranking for the state tournament will hardly see it as something to hold against them.

The Pirates finish their tough opening matches against arguably the weakest of the three, but it’ll be no time for complacency.

The University Prep Pumas finished second in the Emerald Sound 1A league table, sending them into the district tournament. Still, two successive losses to Seattle Academy and Overlake saw them fail to qualify for the state tournament. Nevertheless, playing in the Emerald Sound league alone is enough to make them a formidable opponent. Alongside that, U Prep has seen success in the state tournament, lifting the trophy twice in its history and most recently finishing second in 2022.

Beyond lining up a more difficult schedule to get his team ready for state, Thomas has also been building what he calls a “player-led team,” in which athletes take on more advanced roles in the squad and lead themselves mentally and tactically. It could even involve Thomas not being on the bench for some matches and delegating in-game coaching responsibilities to his team leaders.

While many squad members can and will be called upon to lead the team in different ways, the two who stand out as the most effective and well-rounded to Thomas and his staff — and have subsequently been named captains — are juniors Lewis Thompson and Isaac Newcomb.

Thompson was named captain midway through last season alongside now-graduated Ellis Cudaback and Orion Knowler, so this will not be his first time wearing the armband for the Pirates. Even though Newcomb does not have a season as captain under his belt, he has grown up playing soccer with most of the squad. He’s a natural leader and very knowledgeable about the game.

Islanders are always encouraged to attend the home games. A large crowd always enhances the experience for the players, and fans are promised a very entertaining team. All matches will also be broadcast on 101.9 FM and voiceofvashon.org.

Oscar Lopez is an island sportswriter, a senior at Vashon High School and a Voice of Vashon commentator for the island’s soccer teams.

Pirate Soccer schedule snapshot:

• March 13: Home vs. Bush. JV at 3:30, Varsity at 5:15 p.m.

• March 15: Home vs. Ballard. JV at 12:15, Varsity at 2:00 p.m.

• March 21st: Home vs. University Prep. JV at 3:30, Varsity at 5:15 p.m.

The full schedule can be found at govashonpirates.com.