Kamiak boys soccer beats Vikings 1-0 to advance in districts

MUKILTEO — Kamiak boys soccer coach Kosta Pitharoulis said he encourages his players to display some flair in the attacking third of the pitch.

Manuel Segura embodied that approach Saturday with a jaw-dropping moment of brilliance.

The Kamiak sophomore midfielder buried a spectacular scissor-kick goal in the 45th minute, lifting the third-seeded Knights to a 1-0 win over sixth-seeded Lake Stevens in a 4A District 1 tournament first-round, loser-out match at Kamiak High School.

“I want them to have fun in that attacking third,” Pitharoulis said. “In practice, (Manuel) seems to try to do (those shots) when we’re getting warmed up. So it was one of those where you just felt it was a matter of time (before) it would come in a game. … And it was awesome that it was in a playoff game.”

With the victory, Kamiak (11-4-2) advances to face No. 2-seed Mariner in Tuesday’s district semifinals. The remainder of the tournament is double-elimination, with the top two finishers earning state berths. Lake Stevens (5-10-2) was eliminated with the loss.

The win-or-go-home contest was evenly matched until Segura’s acrobatic goal early in the second half.

After the Knights played the ball out wide to Soren Pehlivanian near the end line, the junior midfielder sent a cross to Segura in front of the net. And with the ball bouncing toward him, Segura pulled off one of soccer’s more difficult shots.

Leaping with both feet in the air and his body almost parallel to the ground, Segura delivered a hard right-footed strike that sailed into the right side of the net for the match’s lone score.

“I guess I was just there at the right time,” Segura said. “It bounced over a couple of people and I was just there. … I wasn’t going to head it, because it was bouncing. It was perfect for a (scissor kick).”

With the underdog Vikings playing toe-to-toe with Kamiak in the first half, the Knights adjusted by adding a third center midfielder shortly before halftime. Pitharoulis said the switch was key to his team gaining a bit of control in the second half.

“They were possessing the ball too much for our liking in the midfield,” Pitharoulis said, “and so we had to make adjustments there. … We had two center midfielders versus their three. So we just had to switch up our numbers a little bit and make things work in our favor. And I think that was kind of what changed the game for the most part.”

The teams split the regular-season series, with Kamiak earning a 5-3 win in the first meeting and Lake Stevens upsetting the Knights with a 2-0 victory 11 days ago. Pitharoulis said the recent loss provided extra motivation heading into Saturday’s rubber match.

“The guys had a little chip on their shoulder,” he said, adding, “I think the boys wanted to make a point that they were the better team. But it was a good battle.”

Kamiak now turns its attention to rival Mariner, which the Knights will attempt to beat for a third time this spring. Kamiak won both regular-season matches by a 2-1 margin.

“Beating a team three times is extremely difficult,” Pitharoulis said. “That’s why in baseball they celebrate the sweeps. … I think (Mariner) is going to have a chip on their shoulder, and (our) guys need to meet and exceed their excitement.”

The season-ending loss was the fourth consecutive one-goal defeat for Lake Stevens, which won five matches this season after a one-win campaign last year. Vikings coach Kit Shanholtzer said he is optimistic about the future of his young squad.

“We had a rough start to the season and we played our best soccer at the end of the year,” he said. “Most of my starting lineup is sophomores, so it’s nice to get another year of growth and another year of (added) height and muscle. I think next year is going to be a really good year.”