PUYALLUP — Snohomish boys soccer coach Dan Pingrey could have been mistaken for a hockey boss Friday evening, given the vast amount of substitutions he made in his team’s 4A state semifinal game against Inglemoor.
But the quick line-change system did its job, and now the Panthers are one win away from repeating as state champions.
Snohomish overwhelmed Inglemoor in the second half with its constant substitutions up front, and the Panthers came from behind to defeat the Vikings 3-2 in an enthralling encounter at Sparks Stadium.
Snohomish trailed 2-1 at halftime, and that compelled Pingrey to employ a strategy he’d never used in his 17 years guiding the Panthers. Pingrey constantly rotated his three forwards throughout the second half, using 13 different players in those three positions, usually for no more than five minutes at a time. During their short bursts on the field the Panther forwards sprinted all out and harassed the Viking defenders relentlessly.
The constant wave of Snohomish forwards, combined with the warm and sunny conditions, wore down the Inglemoor defense, and eventually it allowed Noah Rasmussen to score the deciding goal with just 11 minutes remaining.
The image that encapsulated just how well Snohomish’s strategy worked came in the final moments when Inglemoor midfielder Rio Alcorta was on the turf cramping up, and two Panthers had to come over to stretch out Alcorta’s calves as no Vikings had the energy to get over and assist.
“You could see it was on,” said Pingrey, who used every single one of his 22 roster players in the game. “(The Vikings) were struggling, they were asking to come out, and they didn’t have anyone to replace them with. We know our guys can play, we’ve got guys who have energy. They all went in and some had a minute-and-a-half, some had five, some were so nervous it took about 30 seconds and they were done. But it paid off, it worked.”
Kristian Barney scored the other two goals for Snohomish (18-2-1), which is now one win away from becoming the first repeat 4A state champion since Decatur won back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002. The only team standing in the Panthers’ way is Central Valley. That game is at 5 p.m. Saturday at Sparks Stadium.
Jordan Travis scored for Inglemoor, which was also the beneficiary of a Snohomish own goal. The Vikings ended their season 10-3-4.
Snohomish looked like it was in trouble at halftime. Inglemoor scored twice in two minutes midway through the first half to overturn a 1-0 deficit, and Vikings brothers Burke and Quinn Fahling were dominating the game and giving Snohomish’s defense fits.
But the game transformed dramatically from the moment the second half started, and the score was tied a mere 25 seconds in. An Inglemoor clearing attempt went awry, allowing Blake Crutchfield to whip the ball right back in front, where Barney headed it into the corner to knot it at 2-2.
Then the rest of the second half took on an appearance one never sees at a soccer game, with a wave of Snohomish players coming in at practically every dead ball. All those substitutions went in to play up front, with forwards, midfielders and even defenders being summoned to play their part. The result was the longer the game went on, the more the Panthers seemed in charge.
“I thought it was a good idea because we all pressured hard,” was Rasmussen’s reaction to the unusual tactic. “If they got tired we had more subs to keep coming in. I thought it was a good strategy.
“You could see they were getting pretty tired,” Rasmussen added. “Then we could work around them. They were either going to foul us or we could easily beat them.”
And finally it led to the winning goal. Coleman French picked up the ball in midfield and went on a mazy run through the Inglemoor defense before sending a pass to Thomas McKeown posted up in the penalty box. McKeown held the ball up under pressure, and although the ball slipped away it went to Rasmussen, who fired past Inglemoor goalkeeper Justin Busby to give the Panthers the lead.
“It felt really good,” Rasmussen said about scoring the goal that put the Panthers in the finals. “It was my first goal of the season and it was a good one.”
Inglemoor didn’t have the energy to mount a sustained attack in the final 10 minutes, and the Panthers salted the game away for the chance at the fourth boys soccer state title in school history.
At Sparks Stadium
Goals—Kristian Barney (S) 2, Noah Rasmussen (S), Snohomish own goal (I), Jordan Travis (I). Assists—Blake Crutchfield (S) 2, Thomas McKeown (S), Burke Fahling (I), Quinn Fahling (I). Goalkeepers—Inglemoor: Justin Busby. Snohomish: Alex Fairhurst, Cameron Beardsley. Records—Snohomish 18-2-1. Inglemoor 10-3-4.
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