Ryan Krug Vashon Cup raises scholarship funds
Published 10:30 am Tuesday, January 6, 2026
On Sunday, Dec. 7, the annual Ryan Krug Vashon Cup was played to raise scholarship funds in honor of the late Ryan Krug.
The first Vashon Cup was played in December 2012. It was organized to give the Vashon Pilots (a U18 VISC team) a final game after their scheduled opponent from South Tacoma — longtime rivals — was ejected from the TPCJSA soccer league following a brawl the previous week. Liam O’Neil assembled a ragtag team from the Vashon men’s drop-in group to give the Pilots a match. A trophy was acquired and that trophy has been awarded every year since.
Ryan Krug played for the adult team that first year; he was one age group below the Pilots. He tragically passed away the following January, and in subsequent years the match has been played in his honor, raising money for the Ryan Krug scholarships. Today, players bid for spots on the adult team: The top 18 bids make the roster, the top 11 start, and the 18th bid serves as both player and coach.
This year, during a break in the atmospheric river at noon, the game got underway. From the start, the VISC team of mostly juniors and sophomores, the Seadogs, were under pressure. Sure enough, the adults scored within the first two minutes as Vashon state champion Tommy Delargy took a well-weighted through pass from Ryan Hutchinson, split the lines and put his name on the scoresheet.
After that early goal, the Seadogs hunkered down. There was some back-and-forth play, with occasional forays for the adults down the left side, but the boys managed to hold the back line. Eventually, with the adults controlling midfield, Olin Christopherson slipped a clean through ball past the defense. Delargy ran onto it, the keeper charged, and Delargy calmly lifted the ball up and wide into the back of the net to make it 2-0 for the adults.
The VISC team had one good chance in open play, with Sage Stromberg attempting a shot past center back Andy Casey, but it went narrowly wide. Then came a moment with a bit of controversy. Left back Bob “Mbobbe” Hennessey made a sliding challenge in the box. We had agreed beforehand on no slide tackles, but Hennessey was late to the meeting and missed that instruction. It was technically not a foul, so center referee Kevin Wing awarded a direct free kick from just outside the box. The Seadogs captain, Sevie Giller, stepped up to take the free kick, but the shot sailed high and the score remained 2-0.
Meanwhile, the adults continued to pressure, keeping the Seadogs’ first-half goalkeeper, Ozzie Tanner, busy. Tanner produced two outstanding saves to keep the Seadogs in the match. Possession stats strongly favored the adults in the first half, completing 165 passes to the boys’ 112, mostly in their own half of the field.
At halftime, the boys received words of encouragement from Rich Krug, and team captain Giller also spoke, expressing appreciation to everyone present for supporting community through the sport of soccer.
The adults took the field promptly for the second half, while the boys held an awkwardly long huddle, leaving the men waiting at midfield.
That approach did not pay off. Two minutes in, Delargy again dribbled past a pair of defenders and fired a hard near-post shot on the left side to complete his hat trick.
The adults again controlled play offensively, though the VISC players had more success getting into the attacking third than in the first half. Another surge saw Christopherson fire a shot off the post. Play scrambled downfield, but the adults regained possession and pressed again. A run down the right led to a cross to the far post, a great initial save by second-half VISC keeper Owen Meade, and then a rebound finished by Caelan into the open net to make it 4-0. The Seadogs responded a couple more times, but their speed advantage was negated repeatedly by adult Ezra Koenig, who could match any of the younger players in that area.
With the match well in hand, credit goes to the Seadogs for continuing to push. Taking more risks at the back to find a goal, they were punished when Ryan Hutchinson intercepted a midfield pass, went one-on-one with the keeper and calmly slotted it home despite a strong physical challenge from Seadogs center back Rafael Escovedo.
As the clock wound down, the Seadogs made one final push. Stromberg made a solo run down the right flank, beat the corner defender and struck a hard shot near post that beat adult keeper Scott Mentink. The boys got their goal, and shortly thereafter time expired with the final score: Adults 5, Boys 1.
If you would like information on how to contribute to the Ryan Krug Memorial Scholarship, make checks out to the Vashon Scholarship Foundation with the note that it is for the Ryan Krug fund. Additional donations can be made at vashonscholarships.org
The fund provides three scholarships every year to graduating male and female soccer players and a third to a member of the band.
Greg Martin is an event organizer of the Ryan Krug Cup.
