Last week, the Vashon Island Pirates boys soccer team played its final two matches in the regular season. Neither was expected to pose much competition, and both matches went as expected.

Vashon first faced the Seattle Christian Warriors, who had put together a strong campaign up to that point — boasting a respectable 8-3-3 record. In the end, however, they couldn’t keep up with the Pirates, who won the game comfortably 4-0. Vashon still looked a little hungover from their 3-1 loss to Cascade Christian the previous week, and none of the players really put in a vintage performance, but Evanan Shrestha stood out as Man of the Match for his creativity on the ball.

Vashon finished their regular season campaign against the Life Christian Eagles, who sat at the bottom of the Nisqually 1A division. Their record was reflected in their performance as, despite having a depleted squad, the Pirates brushed the Eagles aside by a score of 9-0. Many of the Pirates played well, including Rowan Marceau-Roache, who netted a hat-trick, but it was Mason Haynes who earned Man of the Match for his one goal and three assists.

With the regular season over, Vashon now turns its attention to the first of two playoff phases: the district tournament.

The top six teams in Nisqually 1A reach the state tournament, with the first and second seeds receiving a bye. Two matches in the tournament were played on Saturday, May 10, with Seattle Christian continuing their strong campaign by beating East Jefferson 2-0 and moving on to face the Cascade Christian Cougars in the semifinals. The second match was between Klahowya and Bellevue Christian, where Klahowya won on penalties and will have faced the Pirates Tuesday, May 13.

While Tuesday’s match (after The Beachcomber’s press time) was a must-win for the Pirates, Klahowya has not proven itself to be a difficult opponent, with Vashon winning 10-0 in the two teams’ last encounter. The Pirates will likely have their sights set on a different target — one they are keen to put down.

Unless there is a significant upset in either of the district semifinals, the final will be Vashon versus Cascade Christian. This match is big for the Pirates for three reasons.

First: It’s simply a final, and a victory would crown Vashon the Nisqually 1A district champions for the third year running.

Second: The match has massive state implications. The Pirates and the Cougars both currently sit in the top five of all 1A teams in Washington, but only the top four get to host games in the first two rounds of the state tournament. If Vashon were to win against Cascade Christian, it would likely solidify them as a top-four team and would therefore give them home-field advantage for the early matches in state. If the Pirates were to lose, it would be more likely that they would have to travel for their first state games, and they would also have to face more difficult opponents in the first couple of rounds.

Third: Vashon is out for revenge against the Cougars. The Pirates suffered their first and only loss of the season so far to the Cougars at home on senior night, with the Cascade Christian social media team posting a three-minute-long video recounting the win. Needless to say, that loss will be fresh in the minds of all the Pirate players going into the district final.

Vashon finishes the regular season with 11 wins, three draws, and just one loss. Still, the main success of the Pirates’ regular season campaign is that they have already faced all of the primary challengers for the state title: University Prep, Overlake, and Cascade Christian.

Vashon drew 2-2 against U-Prep and Overlake, and split their games against Cascade Christian with a win and a loss, so it’s anyone’s guess on how their next encounter with any of these foes could go.

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