It’s a nonleague game for the Snohomish and Glacier Peak boys soccer teams but it’s perhaps the one each wants to win the most.
Tonight the Grizzlies-Panthers crosstown rivalry extends to the soccer field, when the teams — who have lost two games combined — face off for the second-consecutive year.
“It’s definitely one of our biggest games of the season, even though it’s not a league game,” said Glacier Peak defender Matt Johnston. “A lot of our players have grown up playing against those guys, myself included. So it’s a big game when you know the other players personally. The whole crosstown rivalry is big here with every sport.”
Snohomish is tops in the Wesco 4A North league, and comes into the game with a 10-1 overall mark. Glacier Peak is 8-1-2 and is one point behind Shorecrest in a tough Wesco 3A South division that features four teams with six or more league wins.
“They would really like to beat Glacier Peak and would really like to win,” said Snohomish head coach Dan Pingrey. “They’re high school boys. They’re going to go out and try to prove (they’re better) and try to compete. It’s a good rivalry. We actually tried to do it a few years before they would even allow us to play.”
Last year was the first time Glacier Peak and Snohomish got to meet in-season, with the Panthers emerging with a 4-2 victory.
The Grizzlies have not forgotten.
“After last year, them getting us, I think we’re a little more pumped this year,” said Glacier Peak’s Branson Corwin. “We’re trying to get our revenge.”
Corwin said that the rivalry is a friendly one, but sometimes things can get a bit heated once the game begins.
“Sometimes there’s a little bit of a friendly rivalry and then there’s other points,” Corwin said. “But we are one community and we see that and try not to get too chippy.”
Snohomish is dealing with a few key injuries, including starting forward Blake Crutchfield and defender/forward Brennan Judy, who fractured his ankle against Cascade on April 7. The injuries mean a few younger Panthers may get their first taste of the Snohomish-Glacier Peak rivalry.
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