2024 Boys Soccer Player of the Year: Shorewood’s Isaak Abraham

When Isaak Abraham first stepped onto the field for the Shorewood High School varsity boys soccer tryouts as a freshman in spring of 2021, then second-year coach Shaun Warner knew he was going to have an “incredible playmaker.

“The first day (I saw him), I said, ‘I’m so glad I’m coaching here. Very glad I’m not coaching against this kid,’” Warner recalled.

The player-coach partnership soon proved beneficial for the Stormrays as the two helped lead Shorewood atop the Wesco 3A/2A standings while also earning back-to-back Class 3A District 1 trophies and being a Class 3A state contender.

In addition to Abraham’s 16 goals and 14 assists this season, the two-time team captain earned the 2024 Wesco 3A MVP award and his third straight All-Wesco first-team and Everett Herald All-Area first-team selections, making him The Herald’s 2024 Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

Abraham’s first three years on the team were spent playing right back, utilizing his quickness along the sidelines to make overlapping runs past the winger. This season he switched roles, joining the attacking third as a forward.

“He was one of those players that I’d always say, ‘No, no, no, no, yes,’ ‘Don’t do that, don’t do that, OK, I can’t believe he was able to do that,’” Warner said. “He just does things that most players can’t do. … What amazed me about Isaak (in addition to) his ability to score the ball and get assists, is the way he elevated his teammates’ play.

“The way he went into the playoff games, it wasn’t like just all of a sudden we needed him because he’s so much better. Everyone played better (when he was on the pitch). Everyone played with more excitement. Everyone was pumped up,” Warner continued. “I always say my definition of a great soccer player is someone that makes the people around them better. And without a doubt Isaak is that player.”

Abraham’s three years on defense proved pivotal in his progression on varsity because once he transitioned to forward, he already knew the tendencies of a defender, putting him at an advantage in one-on-one situations.

“As a defender, it really depends on the attacker. If the (attacker) has pace, you don’t want to give too much space because he’s just going to run past you. If the (attacker) is very technical, you want to get him on his first touch as fast as you can,” Abraham said. “And you want to defend as tight as you can, pull the jersey if you have to because if you let them go, they’ll run past you as soon as possible. And knowing that, since I played as a defender going into an attacker, everything that I use on defense I used to my advantage on offense.”

Abraham’s first goal as a Stormray came his freshman year when Shorewood faced Cedarcrest. It was 0-0 with a few minutes remaining in the game, and Abraham felt it was appropriate to rocket about a 30-yard right-footed strike into the top-right corner to give his team the victory.

Fast forward to this year, and Abraham produced what Warner described as “great players ris(ing) in great moments.”

In the Class 3A District 1 championship game against Edmonds-Woodway, Abraham hadn’t played a single minute because he was nursing an injury. The game was tied 0-0 with only 10 minutes left to play, and Warner subbed Abraham on. In those 600 seconds Abraham tallied an assist to make it 1-0, then scored a goal of his own as Shorewood won its second straight district trophy. After the goal, he ran to the student section to celebrate with the Shorewood fans.

“It might have been the best moment of my life. Knowing that I have the fan base like this at Shorewood High School is amazing,” Abraham said. “Soccer is like a really big thing here at Shorewood and not playing about 70 minutes of the game just really bummed me out. But as soon as I went in, I knew the atmosphere would be great. And they gave me the motivation to score and get that assist. So going to them I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Though Abraham accomplished many individual feats in high school, there is one box that won’t be checked off: state trophy.

In Abraham’s sophomore season, Shorewood lost in the district winner-to-state, loser-out game to Monroe. The next two years Shorewood received state berths, serving as the No. 3 seed in 2023 and No. 1 seed in 2024. But unfortunately for the Stormrays they lost in the second round both outings.

However, the two league and two district championship banners will hang from the high school’s ceilings, giving Abraham and his teammates something to appreciate when they visit as alumni. Last season, Warner brought his team into the gymnasium and showed them the various banners Shorewood has received for its athletic accomplishments.

“I was talking to them like, ‘It’s really hard to put one of these up here,’” Warner said. “‘And what’s amazing to me is you guys are going to be able to bring your kids back to where you went to high school and say, ‘Look what daddy did.’ And so that resonated with Isaak, and this idea of family and doing something that will never be taken away.”

Said Abraham: “Everybody took it to heart that you could come back to the school and see the banner that we put up.

“As a team, we walked in there, and we didn’t understand why we were in the gym. And Shaun pointed up, and he was like, ‘We can make a statement. We could have one of these banners.’ And we didn’t have one of these banners in a long time. So getting that first banner definitely motivated us to get another one. … That moment was truly special, and I’m glad he did that because I don’t know where we would have been today if he didn’t show us that.”

Abraham will continue his journey at Seattle University next fall to begin classes for his kinesiology degree while looking for opportunities to walk on to the Redhawks men’s soccer team.

“Isaak would raise his game in big games, and so he did not shy away from those moments. He loved going against better competition, and that’s really where he shined,” Warner said. “Even in our training sessions, he always wanted to go against the guy he thought was the next to him. He loved competition. Those big moments were what he thrived on.

“Each year, I have the team choose three words that we’re going to stand for. … They came up with ‘family, dedication and humility,’” Warner continued. “’Like we’re not going to take anyone lightly based on experiences in the past, and we’re going to give every team everything that we have, and we’re going to keep our ego in check.’ And Isaak was that guy. He was confident but not cocky. … Isaak will never be replaced at Shorewood. He’s left a lasting impression.”