M-P takes over first in Wesco North in boys soccer

Published 11:13 pm Saturday, April 19, 2008

MARYSVILLE — The Marysville-Pilchuck High School boys soccer team is determined to make its own little piece of history.

Saturday afternoon the Tomahawks took one more step toward carving out their niche.

Marysville-Pilchuck continued its quest for the first boys soccer league title in school history by beating the Monroe Bearcats 2-0 in a Western Conference North Division contest.

Ryan Wilson scored both goals as the Tomahawks (11-2) took over sole possession of first in the Wesco North with three games remaining.

“This was pretty big,” Wilson said. “It gave us momentum to win the league title. That would be the first time we’ve ever done that, so we plan on doing it since we have the talent on the team.”

Wilson scored both his goals in the second half as M-P overcame a Monroe team that had visions of joining the chase for first.

“I think we did a great job digging down deep today,” M-P coach Geoff Kittle said. “This was our third game this week, so it was good because we were a little tired. We didn’t spread the ball as well as we did at Lake Stevens (a 2-0 victory Thursday), but I was glad the guys figured out how to start possessing a little bit to create an opportunity.”

M-P’s victory sets up a possible winner-takes-all showdown against Cascade on Friday. The teams were tied for first prior to Saturday’s game. The Tomahawks are off until Friday, while the Bruins can pull back into a tie for first by winning at Monroe on Tuesday.

Cascade won the first meeting between the teams 2-1 in overtime on Mar. 28.

“We knew this week was an important week to get us to the game we want, which is next Friday,” Kittle said. “For us this is something our team has talked about wanting to do for our school for a couple weeks now. Especially once we got through the Snohomish game (a 3-2 victory on Apr. 7), our guys started believing we can get this done.”

Meanwhile, Monroe (7-3-2) saw its slim hopes at a title shrink to obscurity. The Bearcats trail the Tomahawks by 10 points with four games remaining, a near impossible deficit to overcome.

“We were very passive,” Monroe coach Ryan Schaeffer said. “Marysville’s a good team, but even if you give a bad team space they’re going to beat you. We gave them too much space to let their good players run the field.”

For much of Saturday’s game it appeared the Tomahawks would be left bemoaning their missed opportunities. M-P repeatedly found seams in the Monroe defense in the first half, but the Tomahawks were either denied by Bearcats goalkeeper Miles Garman or their shots went wide of the goal.

Monroe began playing itself back into the game in the second half, with M-P forced to defend.

But then a little fortune smiled upon the Tomahawks.

In the 60th minute a bouncing ball was played toward Wilson. Wilson was marked by two Monroe defenders, but from the ensuing tangle Wilson emerged with a clean breakaway. He tucked the ball past Garman to break the deadlock.

“I just worked hard and tried to win the ball,” Wilson explained. “I happened to win it, something out of nothing, then picked my head up and slotted it into the left corner.”

The goal restored the game to its first-half form as M-P again became the aggressor. Wilson was denied his second of the game when Garman made a spectacular one-handed save to keep Wilson’s header out. However, Wilson did find the net again in the 73rd minute. The Tomahawks were awarded a free kick just outside the penalty box, and following an elaborate setup with two players running over the ball to fake shots, Wilson curled his shot into the far corner to make it 2-0 and seal the victory.

There was a frightening moment early in the game when Monroe freshman midfielder Quinn Coan took an elbow to the throat. After coming off the field Coan was in considerable distress on the sidelines, with paramedics eventually called in to attend to him. After further examination Coan was able to return to the bench.

“I broke my face in four places in college because of a guy elbowing me and it ended my career,” said Schaeffer, who was not happy about the play. “I saw the whole thing outright and it was horrible. But stuff happens, and he’s going to be OK.”

At Marysville-Pilchuck High School

Goals—Marysville-Pilchuck: Wilson 2. Goalkeepers—Monroe: Garman. Marysville-Pilchuck: Cruz. Records—Monroe 7-3-2. Marysville-Pilchuck 11-2.