SNOHOMISH — For the first season in more than a quarter-century, the Snohomish High School boys soccer team will be without Dan Pingrey on the sidelines.
The longtime Panthers coach stepped down after last season, marking the end of a highly successful tenure during which the program ascended into a perennial state powerhouse.
Pingrey joined the Snohomish program in 1990 and served as the junior-varsity coach for nine seasons before taking over as head coach in 1999. Prior to that, the Panthers had only one state-tournament appearance in program history.
That quickly changed.
Pingrey guided Snohomish to 17 state appearances in his 18 seasons as head coach, including nine trips to the state semifinals and four state championships (2000, 2006, 2014 and 2015). No other Class 4A or 3A boys soccer program has won as many state titles during that span as the Panthers.
The Snohomish program was even nationally ranked on several occasions, including a No. 1 ranking during the 2006 season.
Pingrey also served as head coach of the girls soccer team from 1998 to 2007. He led the Snohomish girls to eight state appearances in 10 seasons, including a third-place finish in 1999.
“It was a great run,” Pingrey said. “It was fun. It was a lot of tremendous young men and women that I got to work with. … It was a team effort by the coaches, players and school staff. It was a great experience.”
Pingrey, who played soccer at Seattle Pacific University and was drafted by the Seattle Sounders, works as patrol chief for the King County Sheriff’s Office. In previous positions with the sheriff’s office, Pingrey was based in Shoreline. But after relocating to downtown Seattle for his current job, the commute to Snohomish became too difficult. That led to his decision to step down.
“Over the last couple years, with traffic and being downtown, I just wasn’t being fair to anybody,” Pingrey said. “I don’t like being late and unavailable, and it wasn’t fair to the assistant coaches. I had actually considered it the year before, just because it was so difficult to get back. I was having to leave earlier from work and still wasn’t getting to training on time. I just couldn’t do it anymore.
“It was a difficult decision, but at the same time, it was a professional decision I had to make. And it was in the best interest of everybody.”
Replacing Pingrey is longtime junior-varsity coach Matt Raney, who is entering his 14th season with the program.
Like his predecessor, Raney also played soccer for Seattle Pacific. Since 2003, Raney and his wife have run a non-profit mission group called Adventure Soccer that travels to Africa and uses the sport to serve orphans of HIV/AIDS.
Raney no doubt has big shoes to fill as head coach, but Pingrey is confident his longtime assistant will succeed in the new role.
“I think he’ll do well,” Pingrey said. “He’ll do it different, but he’ll do it well. He’s got the best interests of the kids, the program, the school and the community all at heart. He really does. He’s got a big heart and he really cares about the program and the kids.”
Raney said that while this year’s team is fully aware of the program’s past success, the focus is on the present.
“We know the rich tradition here, but these guys don’t talk about the past,” Raney said. “They talk about what’s coming up for them. … They’re all talking about what’s going to happen this year.”
The Panthers lost six All-Wesco 4A players to graduation from last year’s ultra-talented senior class, which won back-to-back state titles in 2014 and 2015 before placing fourth in the state last season to finish their careers with four state semifinal appearances.
“The dynasty has graduated out,” Raney said. “And that was a wonderful chapter to look back on — the athletes that came through this program. But this (year’s team) is a group of blue-collar workers that are going to earn everything they get. And I love those kinds of teams.”
Raney said senior forwards Jason Fairhurst and Logan Stapleton will lead Snohomish’s attack, while senior brothers Griffin and Jordan Miller will anchor the defense. Raney also is excited about a deep, competitive midfield highlighted by explosive junior Conner Smith.
“Unlike the past where we saw (certain) players carry the team, this is a different group where we’re going to see the goals scattered all around, because they’re that balanced,” Raney said. “We’ve got players that can play any position on the field, and I love that because it allows us to set up tactically for teams that might have an (elite) player.
“So I think that you’ll find, by the end of the season, a very well-balanced goal-scoring sheet from this group.”
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