Shorewood boys soccer exorcises playoff demons against Central Kitsap

SHORELINE — Daniel Bruno remembers the feeling.

Just over a year ago, Shorewood boys soccer — the top seed in the 2024 3A State Tournament — hosted a matchup against No. 17 Auburn Mountainview, where they were upset 3-2. This came a year after losing 3-0 in 2023 as the third-seed against No. 14 Ballard. Both times, Bruno remembers watching the seniors cry, their high school careers abruptly cut short. Now a senior captain himself, he feels the weight of the past two postseasons.

“That was what we were known for,” Bruno said. “Everyone would be like, ‘Yeah, first-seed lost in the first round.’ So that never feels good.”

Chances for redemption are never guaranteed, but Bruno and the Stormrays got one on Thursday.

After winning their third straight district championship on May 17, Shorewood once again earned the top seed in the 3A State Tournament, and once again would face the 17-seed, this time Central Kitsap, in the Round of 16.

Shorewood coach Shaun Warner and his staff were 0-5 in state playoff games entering the matchup at Shoreline Stadium, the same site as the past two playoff disappointments. Rather than shying away from their past, the Stormrays embraced it.

“We were able to use last year and the year before as just learning experiences,” Warner said. “For us, taking those moments— and I know we’re the number one seed, but once you get in the seeding, I think everyone’s really good. So I think we let that get to us a couple years ago. So now it’s just, ‘Let’s just play.’”

With ghosts at their tails, Shorewood outran them. Bruno set up sophomore Morgan Grutz for a header on a first-half corner kick, and the Stormrays (17-2-1) held that 1-0 lead until the end over the Cougars (14-5-3).

After the final whistle blew, Warner could feel the weight lift off the shoulders of an entire generation of Shorewood soccer.

“I felt so good for Morgan getting that game-winner, and Bruno, and just all these guys that have put in so much work,” Warner said. “I just felt so good for them.”

Warner also gave credit to the back line of Caleb Butler, George Clark, Tally Lord and Meiron Bereket as well as goalkeeper Ivan Genadiev, who collected his fourth clean sheet in a row.

After mistakes in their own end led to costly goals in the last couple playoff losses, Shorewood made a point to not play the ball in the back very often. This year, with a shutdown back line making life difficult for their opponents, the Stormrays have proven tough to score on.

Plus, any time a ball slips through the cracks, Genadiev is there to clean it up.

“We keep shifting, we win the balls,” Genadiev said. “When they go outside, we close them down. No crosses, nothing. We beat them to every ball.”

On the other side of the field, the forwards wasted no time putting chances on net. They sent a couple of shots over the bar in the first few minutes, but it took a little misfortune on Central Kitsap’s part to set up the game-winner.

With the ball bouncing towards Cougars goalie Tyler Adams all alone near the right corner flag, the sophomore attempted to clear the ball down the sideline, but instead rolled it off his foot and out behind the end line to set Shorewood up with a corner kick.

With around 15 minutes left in the half, Bruno stepped up to take it. Grutz originally planned to set a screen for a teammate, but he noticed he had loose coverage around him.

“I just broke off him, cut in the middle, and the ball was just right there,” Grutz said. “So I just headed it, and it was just perfect service (from Bruno).”

After finally breaking through with a lead, the Stormrays felt a boost of confidence, and fortune leaned further in their favor when Central Kitsap defender Myles Peterson received a red card for dragging down Shorewood sophomore Julian Shook to prevent a potential breakaway in the final minutes of the first half. The Cougars had to play with only 10 men for the entire second half.

Shorewood continued to dominate possession after the break, but failed to generate many strong chances. Warner expressed the need for better decision-making in the final third, but the Stormrays defense held off any credible threat from the Cougars.

With around 10 minutes left, Shorewood shifted from going for a second goal to simply protecting their lead, with Grutz and Bruno taking turns bringing the ball into the corner and shielding defenders off with their backs to run down the clock.

Central Kitsap had one final chance in the last two minutes of the game on a long free kick that proved to be Genadiev’s biggest test of the night. The senior knew the ball was on target immediately, and he positioned himself to make a crucial leaping save.

“Once I knew I couldn’t secure it, I made sure to, like, hit it against the ground and swallow it up,” Genadiev said. “And then I took my time.”

Moments later, the Stormrays secured their spot in the state quarterfinals on Saturday, where they will host the No. 8 seed Bellevue.

The Shorewood bench ran onto the field, enjoying the moment together before the handshake line. But the walk back to the bench was oddly quiet. Junior midfielder Dominic Dalasta took it upon himself to loosen the group up, grabbing Butler by the shoulders and shaking him.

“Do you guys not care?” Dalasta asked with a smile.

Sure, a top seed advancing past a 17-seed may not seem like cause for major celebration. But it means way more to this top seed.

“It’s a validation, you know?,” Bruno said. “I think we know, we pride ourselves on how good we are at soccer, so winning this game is a statement of that and validation of that. … We would see seniors that we look up to, right? And they would run into this roadblock, couldn’t get past it.

“So us getting past it, it’s a big mental hump to get over. I think it proves that we can compete at state, and so it’ll give us confidence for our next game.”