MARYSVILLE — For all the Lynnwood boys soccer players who have never been to the playoffs, this year’s team is showing the potential to do some exciting things.
The Royals showed all that potential on Tuesday night, cashing in three first-half goals and holding Marysville Pilchuck scoreless on the defensive end for a 3-0 Western Conference 3A victory on a pleasant evening at Quil Ceda Stadium.
Lynnwood junior forward Dane Evanger had two goals and junior midfielder Ryley Johnson added a goal and two assists as the Royals improved their league record to Lynnwood 6-1-1. The Tomahawks slipped to 6-2.
“I feel pretty good about the performance of the team,” said Lynnwood coach Pablo Mummey. “We came out and played just like I was hoping we would.
“Our goal at the beginning of the season was (getting to the) playoffs,” he added, “and it looks like that’s where we’re headed. So it looks like we’re going to have to set new goals for this team.”
The Royals got their first goal about 15 minutes into the game as Johnson broke in from the right, winning a footrace to come in on MP goalie Kole Bradley-Kuk. As Bradley-Kuk slid to his left to confront Johnson, the Lynnwood player sent a pass across the goal mouth to teammate Evanger for an easy tap-in goal.
About 20 minutes later Evanger scored again, this time evading a defender in front and skipping a low shot into the left corner of the net.
Barely a minute later the Royals tallied a third goal as Johnson came free in the middle and blasted a shot past Bradley-Kuk.
Johnson “is definitely a playmaker,” Mummey said. “He can score. He can make things happen. And it’s hard to run against this kid. If I were playing at that age back in high school I’d hate to play against him.”
As for Evanger, “He’s got a good nose for the net. He’s definitely one of those strikers that is just able to find the net,” Mummey said.
Neither Johnson nor Evanger has been to the district playoffs, so the prospects for this year’s team are new and exciting, they agreed.
“We struggled last year … but this year everybody just has more confidence,” Johnson said. “The team’s playing great right now. And now is the perfect time to start getting these important wins.”
Against the Tomahawks, Evanger said, “we came out with confidence. We came out on fire. It just shows how we’re growing as a team.”
Marysville Pilchuck coach Paul Bartley said his team “came out a little flat. Then after Lynnwood scored their (first) goal we moved the ball up and down the field. We had opportunities, but we just didn’t convert like we normally do up front.”
Marysville Pilchuck lost midfielder Cristian Correa-Avila to an apparent leg injury late in the game. The play resulted in a Lynnwood red card, leaving the Royals to play a man down for the remaining minutes.
At Quil Ceda Stadium
Goals—Dane Evanger (L) 2, Ryley Johnson (L). Records—Lynnwood 6-1-1 league, 8-2-2 overall. Marysville Pilchuck 6-2, 9-2-1.
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