The varsity boys’ soccer team played the Cascade Christian Cougars at home on Wednesday, April 17, and came away with a decisive win.
Vashon set the tempo early with their first possession with effective passing that spread the Cougar’s defense. After a string of six passes, Pirate mid-fielder Jacob Heuschert dribbled deftly past numerous defenders to the left side of the 18 yard box, where he found striker Tommy Delargy with a perfect pass. Delargy took two touches and pounded the ball low into the left side of the net. Vashon was up 1-0 in the first minute of the game.
In the seventh minute, Richard Rivas stole a pass and like Heushert, danced through the Cougar’s defense. He executed a perfect through pass to Delargy, who with one touch shot the ball into the net. In the 11th minute, Heushert had a clean tackle on a Cougar player and quickly passed to Delargy, who dribbled through the defense, juked the goalkeeper and fired in his third goal of the game.
The Cougar defense began collapsing on Delargy with each Pirate possession creating scoring opportunities for other Vashon players. Jessie Townsend scored with a pretty crossing shot from a tight angle in the 13th minute. In the 29th minute, Hunter Denali found a wide open Finley Oswald, who scored easily. Oswald, seemingly everywhere on the field, scored one minute later when Delargy sneaked a pass through three defenders in the box. By the end of the first half, Vashon led 7-0, controlled 63% of the possession with 83% passing accuracy and denied the Cougars a single shot attempt.
In the second half, Coach Ben Bork substituted liberally and moved players to different positions. Freddy Guitierez saw his first action since sustaining a bad ankle sprain over a month ago. He replaced Oswald in midfield and controlled play with his calm style. Guitierez scored off a corner kick by midfielder Ronny Torres. He sent in a beautiful floater from outside the box that slowly swerved into the top corner of the net. Vashon settled into a defensive formation with the mid-field and defense easily pushing away any offensive threats that Cascade Christian could muster. Pirate goalkeeper Marley Kott stopped three shots on goal and defender Will Hennessey strongly headed away a free kick in the box while surrounded by three Cougar offensive players. Defender Chris Fontina made excellent passes up the line to maintain Vashon’s control of the game. A final Pirate goal came in the 70th minute when Townsend fired a crossing pass into the box to Cameron Bedard, who “dummied” the defender, letting the ball roll to Henry Rogers who easily scored.
In the end, Vashon won 9-0 by controlling 58% of the possession and firing 18 shots on goal. Delargy led the Pirates scoring with a hat trick (three goals), and Osward had a brace (two goals). Heuschert assisted on three goals to go with the one he scored. The score could have been higher but the Cougar goalkeeper made some very good saves.
Vashon’s next game was against Bellevue Christian at Marymoor Park on Tuesday, April 23, after press time. Before the game, Bellevue Christian was tied for the conference lead with Vashon, and the game determined playoff seeding. Vashon’s last home game is at 6 p.m. Monday, April 29, versus Bellevue Christian again. This is senior night and fans’ last chance to see five superb players take the field in Pirate uniforms. Please come out to cheer the team on. In between, Vashon has an away game versus Seattle Christian at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 25, at Starfire. The team finishes the season on the road against Charles Wright at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 1.
— Jonathan Kott is a father of a soccer player.
