Mariner tops Lake Stevens

Published 6:18 pm Saturday, May 7, 2011

EVERETT — Vince DeSimone described it as perhaps the biggest victory in the history of Mariner High School boys soccer.

No, the Marauders haven’t clinched their first berth to the state tournament in 18 years just yet, but now they’ve given themselves a legitimate chance.

Mariner bo

oked itself into the Class 4A District 1 tournament proper Saturday afternoon by defeating the Lake Stevens Vikings 3-2 in a first-round loser-out game at Goddard Stadium.

“This was special,” DeSimone, Mariner’s head coach the past seven years, said. “To me it’s the biggest win ever. But we’r

e going to be humble right now. We’re going to go on and meet the next opponent. One game at a time.

“We played a really good game,” DeSimone added. “Take nothing away from Lake Stevens, they can play the game, too. But it was our day.”

The Marauders, the No. 2 seed from Wesco South, used a goal and two assists from senior forward Yahir Sandoval to upend Wesco North No. 3 Lake Stevens in a hard-fought and often ill-tempered affair.

With the victory Mariner (14-3) advanced to the double-elimination portion of the district tournament. The Marauders travel to face Wesco North No. 1 Snohomish on Tuesday. If Mariner, a school with little history of soccer success, wins that game the Marauders will head to state for the first time since 1993.

“This feels great,” Sandoval said. “Last year we got knocked out in the (district play-in game), so it feels good to advance to the next game.”

Bogdan Nikitov and Carlos Rodriguez also scored for Mariner, which controlled play early and held on late. Goalkeeper Ulises Hernandez made four important saves during the second half as Lake Stevens came on strong.

The Vikings put in a tireless effort to make it a game after falling behind 2-0 after 20 minutes, with junior midfielder Tanner Sellars twice pulling Lake Stevens back within one. The Vikings huffed and puffed to give themselves a chance to tie it at the end, but Mariner was able to hold out.

Lake Stevens, which was the state runner-up last year, finished its season 10-7.

“(The Marauders) are a good team, and we fought our hearts out,” Lake Stevens coach Scott Flanders said. “It’s been that kind of season, it’s been up and down and difficult to put the ball in the net. Today was just one of those days. But I’m really pleased with the way our guys battled all day. I have no complaints about the way we competed.”

Saturday’s game was the classic confrontation between skill and industry, with Mariner’s ball control and tricks matched up against Lake Stevens’ power and pace. In this instance skill won out, but only just.

It looked as though Mariner was going to run away with it early on. The Marauders created scoring chances early, and they got the opening goal just 10 minutes into the game. A great flicked through ball by Sandoval released Nikitov down the left. Nikitov then centered back to Sandoval, who put his shot into the corner off the leg of a defender, making it 1-0.

Mariner kept up the pressure and doubled its lead in the 20th minute. Miguel Medina began a Marauders break, giving Sandoval the opportunity put the ball in front of Nikitov. Nikitov finished calmly into the corner to make it 2-0.

“Today we finished, and every time we finish we do well,” DeSimone said. “The kids played together as a team.”

It seemed there was no way back for Lake Stevens, but the Vikings gave themselves a lifeline thanks to their most-dangerous weapon: the long throw-ins of defender Mark Russell. With time winding down in the first half, Russell put a throw toward the near post. Shawn Morgan headed it across goal, where Sellars headed in at the far post to cut the lead to 2-1.

Lake Stevens carried the momentum into the second half as the Vikings began to control play. But the Marauders struck on the counter in the 48th minute to restore their two-goal lead. Sandoval was all alone against four Vikings defenders, but somehow he managed to wriggle through and roll the ball into the path of Rodriguez. Rodriguez tapped the ball onto the inside of the post, but he reacted quickly to put in the rebound from point blank and make it 3-1.

Hernandez was responsible for maintaining Mariner’s lead. Just one minute later he made a stunning stop on Sellars’ drilled free kick from 35 yards, palming the ball onto the post. Then he made a sliding stop with his legs after AJ Calcagno managed to round the Mariner defense.

But there was nothing Hernandez could do against another Russell long throw in then 63rd minute. Russell’s throw caused chaos in the Mariner penalty box, with the Vikings pinging the ball around until Sellars was able to lift it over Hernandez with the outside of his foot, making it 3-2.

The Vikings continued to press, launching ball after ball into the Mariner box. But the Marauders survived the aerial threat to advance.