SHORELINE — Sophomore defender Nikola Genadiev did not score a goal in the Shorewood High School boys soccer team’s victory over Cascade on Monday night. However, his contributions on corner kicks played an equally important role.
Genadiev helped set up the game’s first three goals, two of which came on his deliveries from corners, as the Stormrays defeated the Bruins 4-0 in a Wesco 3A/2A clash.
In the 19th minute, Genadiev received the ball off a short corner and sent a left-footed strike into the penalty box. The ball was deflected and fell to the feet of junior defender Matthew Bereket, who tapped it in for a 1-0 lead.
In the 52nd minute Genadiev lobbed a pass to senior forward Isaak Abraham, which Abraham headed down to control before placing the ball past Cascade’s goalie to make it 2-0. About five minutes later Genadiev was the recipient of another short corner, where he produced a left-footed shot into the goal area that was headed in by senior forward Atticus Benitz for a 3-0 lead.
“Our short corner is really effective. We’ve scored multiple times off it,” Genadiev said. “Isaak, who plays me the ball, we have good combinations. And our guys are just tall and big in the box, and I just play any ball in there, they’ll get it.”
Senior midfielder Finn Delachappelle completed the scoring, rocketing a right-footed strike from near the top of the 18-yard box into the bottom left corner to comfortably secure the win for Shorewood (13-1-0 overall, 12-1-0 league). With Edmonds-Woodway losing 2-1 to Arlington, the Stormrays increased their lead atop Wesco 3A/2A to six points.
“The opponent was quality, and we’re on our spring break, so it felt like that (in the) first half,” Shorewood coach Shaun Warner said. “(But) the second half we woke up. … We moved the ball a little bit better. … We had a little bit of a chip on our shoulder (following the loss to Edmonds-Woodway last week). We got comfortable, and I told these guys, ‘At this point in the season, no more being comfortable. Everyone’s out to get us.’ So they responded well.”
Cascade (9-3-2, 9-3-1) had two shots ricochet off the woodwork along with other promising chances, but it was the Stormrays’ stout defense and goalkeeping by junior Ivan Genadiev that kept the Bruins scoreless and earned a shutout for Shorewood.
“We were actually pretty excited for this game,” Cascade coach Michelle Crews-Turner said. “When we started out, we didn’t make any changes to how we play even though we were playing the No. 1 (team) because we knew we could compete. And we showed well for a while. (We) didn’t take advantage of opportunities early on. That’s unfortunate. But I’m still proud of these guys, and I’d love the opportunity to play (Shorewood) again.”
Cascade remained in third place in Wesco 3A/2A, eight points behind Shorewood and two behind Edmonds-Woodway. Two games remain in the regular season.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
Gallery
