Panthers rise to the top in Wesco North soccer

Published 11:37 pm Friday, April 10, 2009

LAKE STEVENS — The 2009 Snohomish High School boys soccer team isn’t flashy. The Panthers don’t generate as many highlight-reel-worthy plays as their highly successful predecessors.

But none of that matters to them, because even with a different style they just keep winning.

Propelled by two first-half goals, Snohomish held on for a 2-1 victory over the Lake Stevens Vikings Friday in a Western Conference North Division game at Lake Stevens High School. Senior Sean Schaller and junior Zach Crutchfield scored for Snohomish (7-1-1, 22 points), which moved past Marysville-Pilchuck (6-0-2, 20 points) into first place in the division.

Goalkeeper Cody Melander, a junior, made eight saves and kept Lake Stevens (6-2, 18 points) scoreless until the last few minutes. Snohomish hasn’t lost since its season opener, a 3-1 defeat March 17 at Monroe. Since then, the Panthers have outscored foes 20-7.

“The strength of this team is it’s very blue-collar. It works hard. It can grind things out,” Snohomish coach Dan Pingrey said.

In an action-packed first half, Snohomish scored twice in a span of 5 minutes. Schaller scored first, unassisted, in the 17th minute on a kick from the right corner that deflected off a Lake Stevens defender. In the 22nd minute, the Panthers converted again when Crutchfield knocked in a low shot (Brendon Gundry assist) from the middle.

“It was definitely an important game because we (previously) beat them at our place,” said Crutchfield, referring to Snohomish’s 2-1 triumph over Lake Stevens March 19 at Veterans Memorial Stadium. “Everyone knew it was a crucial one coming in here. We wanted to make a statement to the league that Snohomish has still got it and we haven’t dropped off yet.”

Lake Stevens senior Zach Wagner scored with about 2 minutes to go in the game. He immediately turned, ran in the opposite direction and pointed to the sky with both hands after tallying his team-leading eighth goal of the season. But the Vikings were not able to connect again.

Lake Stevens appeared to score in the 72nd minute when Nick Bylin booted a close-range shot inside the left post. But it didn’t count because an official ruled Snohomish’s keeper had control of the ball and Bylin illegally dislodged it.

“It’s just unlucky,” Lake Stevens coach Scott Flanders said. “We picked up our pace in the second half but just a ball here and a ball there didn’t go our way.”

Lake Stevens goalkeeper Michael Pierce stopped 11 shots.

Before the game, everyone observed a moment of silence in honor of Ryan DePuy, a former Lake Stevens High student who died April 10, 2008 — exactly a year before Friday’s game. Lake Stevens players wore black arm bands in tribute to DePuy, who at age 17 died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicine.

“There was definitely some emotion coming into the game,” Flanders said, “but it didn’t affect the outcome. Once you start playing the game, all of that goes away.”

A soccer player who grew up in Lake Stevens and played for the Vikings junior varsity squad as a freshman, DePuy was a Bothell High student when he died. His parents, Scott and Charlene DePuy, created a foundation in their son’s name to raise awareness about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs. For more information, go to http://www.ryanssolution.com.

Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com.