Olsen plays with dedication

Published 11:29 pm Monday, April 6, 2009

SNOHOMISH — Travis Olsen, a junior midfielder for the Snohomish boys soccer team, wanted the Panthers to honor his late grandfather with their performance on the pitch.

It’s only fitting that Olsen scored the only goal for Snohomish in a 1-0 Western Conference North Division showdown against Monroe at Snohomish Veterans Memorial Stadium Monday night.

In the 22nd minute, Olsen collected a pass about 25 yards from the net, maneuvered around a couple Monroe defenders and unleashed a low strike across the face of the goal and into the right corner. The goal was Olsen’s team-leading fifth of the season.

Along with paying homage to Olsen’s grandfather, the Panthers (6-1-1 league and overall) avenged a season-opening 3-1 defeat at Monroe on March 17.

“It was typical Snohomish-Monroe rivalry, intense and 100 miles per hour,” Snohomish head coach Dan Pingrey said. “They’re (Monroe) a high pressure team. They don’t allow you to settle in.”

Neither team allowed the other to dominate possession or set up an efficient offensive attack. The Bearcats had to deal with Olsen and the fleet-footed Brendon Gundry, while Snohomish keeper Cody Melander was peppered with a fair share of long free kicks and hard throw-ins to the box.

The Panthers had the greater number of close chances in the second half with Gundry using his speed to pressure Bearcats (3-4-0) keeper Miles Garman.

Gundry hit the right post after beating several defenders in the 57th minute, missed wide with a left-footed strike in the 66th minute and enticed Garman out of position before slipping the ball across the mouth of the goal and inches wide three minutes before injury time.

Olsen also missed the upper right corner in the 67th minute.

“We just couldn’t finish those,” Olsen said.

Monroe also had a number of chances on long-distance free kicks. The Bearcats won a handful of free strikes from about 40-45 yards out, but Melander was up to the task and corralled the services.

“We had a lot of set pieces that were a little too deep,” Monroe head coach Ryan Schaeffer said.

Shane McDivitt, a senior midfielder for Monroe, also troubled Melander with his powerful throw-ins from the touchline.

Snohomish central defender Conner Moe handled the task of clearing away many of Monroe’s services into the area.

“Conner is a solid senior captain,” Pingrey said. “He’s been huge.”

Moe, who can also play midfield, showcased his versatility by advancing up-field with the ball on the attack twice during the game.

The difference maker for Snohomish, however, was Olsen.

“He (Olsen) was playing with a lot of passion and emotion,” Pingrey said. “He stepped up and held it together.”

Pingrey said revenge for the season-opening loss wasn’t much of a motivating factor because his team only has two starters from last season’s squad and made mistakes in the first game.

“We learned from it (the loss),” Pingrey said. “We want to come out and keep improving.

“We wanted to make a statement.”