Bruins blank Vikings
Published 9:31 pm Saturday, March 22, 2008
EVERETT — It seems the Cascade boys soccer team has found its rallying cry. And it’s being heard by everyone in the league.
Saturday afternoon at Everett Memorial Stadium, the Bruins blanked Lake Stevens 2-0 in a Wesco North match to improve to a perfect 5-0 on the season and further solidify their spot atop the league standings.
But, as far as Cascade is concerned, the start has way more to do with attitude than anything else.
“Lake Stevens is a powerhouse, and they have more talent than us, as far as overall skill,” Bruins head coach Daghan Kesim said. “But we fight. Every team in the league can beat Cascade, but we can beat anyone if we fight the way we’ve been fighting.”
That tenacity mixed nicely with a strong dose of confidence against Lake Stevens. Cascade scored the only two goals of the contest within a minute of each other, the second one coming from 45 yards out.
After a scoreless first half, the Bruins got on the board on a header by Gerardo Martinez in the 51st minute, assisted by Jeff Gosslee off a corner kick.
Less than a minute later, Gosslee passed to a wide-open Reid Jones, who launched a shot from 45 yards out. The shot sailed into the goal untouched, just past the leap of the goalkeeper, making it 2-0.
“He (the goalkeeper) was always off the line back there and the ball bounced perfectly to me, so I pulled the trigger,” Jones said. “I don’t try those too often.”
Cascade turned defensive from there, turning away several Lake Stevens opportunities. The first came in the 60th minute, as the Bruins knocked away two consecutive corner-kick plays. With just more than eight minutes remaining, Lake Stevens was given a free kick from less than 20 yards out, but a strong shot was deflected out of bounds by a leaping Michael Janner in goal.
Kesim was especially pleased with his team’s effort on a day when he didn’t substitute much. Only 13 Cascade players got on the field and two of those — Alex Bjornsen and Gosslee — were playing through injuries.
“These guys do a lot of conditioning, and it pays off,” Kesim said. “They believe in themselves because of what they’ve done the last two years.”
At Everett Memorial Stadium
Goals—Cascade: Gerardo Martinez (1), Reid Jones (1). Assists—Cascade: Jeff Gosslee (2). Goalkeepers—Home: Michael Janner. Records—Lake Stevens 1-3-0 league, 1-3-0 overall. Cascade 5-0-0, 5-0-0.
