By Lila Cohen

For The Beachcomber

Just weeks ago, in closing a very successful season, the VHS boys’ varsity soccer team won their league.

Along with winning the league, their season’s success manifested in winning eight of nine games, multiple players being named best in the league, and six players being named to the First and Second Nisqually Teams.

To the surprise of no one, senior captain Jakob Heuschert was voted Most Valuable Player of the Nisqually League. Senior Chris Fontina was also extremely successful in his category, winning Defensive Player of the Year, as was his teammate, junior Evan Kepler, who was named Goalkeeper of the Year.

Joining Heuschert, Fontina, and Kepler on the awards list was their coach Scott Nicolino — as Coach of the Year.

Vashon players also made up a sizable portion of the First Team All-Nisqually, with senior Zach Van Dusen, sophomore Nick Zuckerman and junior Levi Stahl all making the list.

Junior Bellamy Cox just barely missed making the First Team but represented Vashon on the Second Team All-Nisqually alongside teammates junior Jaimie Pereyda, and Eythan Hyllested.

These awards are awarded based on a voting system among coaches in the league. Coaches send in a list of players they wish to nominate, making their case with both qualitative and quantitative arguments.

Each coach then ranks the top 15 players to make up the First Team from the many submitted, as well as voting for Coach of the Year and Team with Best Sportsmanship. Coaches can’t vote for themselves or their players. And the player with the most votes overall is named MVP.

This year it was Heuschert who was awarded this honor.

Nicolino expressed his pride in all the players who were selected for the honors and noted how it reflected the entire team’s commitment to success.

“It’s also a testament to the impressive talent and dedication that this incredible group of players displayed for VHS all season long,” Nicolino said.