The Cedarcrest Red Wolves qualified for the state tournament for the first time in school history in 2007, before bowing out to Mark Morris in the Class 2A quarterfinals a year ago.
With 11 seniors returning in 2008, the Red Wolves were poised to make another run to state, but head coach Zack Pittis felt a little tweaking was necessary.
He told RJ Sorenson, his star center midfielder, to focus more on the offensive opportunities his position offered, rather than playing defensively, as he had done for several seasons.
“I’ve always been more offensive-minded anyway, so (Pittis) let me be more free this year,” said Sorenson, who plays forward on his club team, Cascade FC. “It wasn’t too much (of an adjustment) at all. It was actually a really comfortable position because this year I was able to do whatever I wanted.”
The plan worked to perfection as Sorenson scored 31 goals and tallied 9 assists in leading Cedarcrest to an undefeated regular season and third place in the 2A state tournament. For those exploits, Sorenson is The Herald’s 2008 All-Area Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
“He just kind of blossomed this year — he really came into his own this year,” Pittis said. “Other teams had a tough time trying to mark him.”
With opponents focusing their defensive efforts on him, Sorenson’s presence opened up his teammates to have strong seasons.
“He did a lot of things for us,” Pittis said. “He took pressure off our other guys — particularly Evan (Fassler, who had 23 goals and 22 assists). A lot was due to other teams focusing on RJ. Not only did he carry us at times, he freed up other guys to have big games. He contributed to our success in what he did with all those goals.”
Sorenson started the season with hat trick in the Red Wolves’ season-opening victory over Eastside Catholic and scored in every game the Red Wolves played until their 1-0 upset loss to Lakewood — a team they defeated 7-0 earlier in the season — in the 2A District 1 championship game.
As the season wore on, Sorenson began to show his versatility beyond being simply a goal scorer.
“Once they started marking up on me I was able to show I actually had some passing skills too and was able to give Evan the ball and got him some goals,” he said. “And with all that attention on me, it got (my teammates) freed up, so they were able to carry us toward the end of the season.”
But it was in Cedarcrest’s quarterfinal rematch with Mark Morris that Sorenson showed his true value and grit as he suffered a separated shoulder early in the match.
Pittis pulled him off the field to make sure he was able to keep playing while Sorenson begged to be put back in.
“I never want to get off the field,” he said. “I always want to be playing — it’s what I love to do.”
Sorenson played through the injury, converting a shootout penalty kick in Cedarcrest’s 1-0 (4-2 on kicks) victory to send the Red Wolves to the semifinals for the first time in school history.
“Revenge is always nice,” he said. “We would have liked to have done it a little easier, but it’s always good.”
After taking most of the week of practice off, Sorenson was back on the field the next weekend, but Cedarcrest saw its dream of a state title dashed in a 3-0 semifinal loss to eventual state-champion Sehome.
“They played us tough — they really knew how to beat us,” he said of Sehome. “They took me out of the game, they man-marked Evan. I think they really researched us this time.”
Despite the loss, Sorenson felt the season was a success on many levels.
“The whole team developed a lot more this year and we had a lot more team chemistry,” he said. “This year it seemed like we were a lot closer and we did a lot more stuff together outside of school.”
Sorenson will attend Gonzaga University in the fall, where he plans to major in either electrical or mechanical engineering and will attempt to walk on the Bulldogs soccer team — something Pittis said is a very good possibility.
“He’s capable of playing at the next level for sure,” Pittis said. “College coaches can put him anywhere and he’ll excel. He’s real coachable that way.”
Whether Sorenson continues his soccer career or not, he has certainly enjoyed his career thus far.
“I play for fun and I just love the game,” he said. “Actually I don’t know what to do with myself now that the season’s over.”
His underclassman teammates might not know what to do either, as they will certainly miss their lanky senior leader.
“We’ll definitely miss him,” Pittis said. “Anytime you take 30 goals out of the equation, you miss it, but we’ll miss having him on the field and around.”
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