LAKE STEVENS – It was all about number one on Friday night.
First, there was the Snohomish High boys soccer team, ranked No. 1 in the country in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas poll.
Opposing the Panthers were the Lake Stevens Vikings (No. 11 in the nation), who lost against Snohomish by one goal, you guessed it, exactly one month ago. Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
But on a night that began centered on the power of one, Lake Stevens showed that a different number – eight – mattered most.
On senior night, eight Lake Stevens seniors came up big to help Lake Stevens stun Snohomish 3-1 in a Western Conference North Division game at Lake Stevens High. For the first time in their prep careers (there’s that number again), the Lake Stevens seniors tasted victory against Snohomish.
“It feels so good because all the fans came out here,” said Lake Stevens senior Kyle Warrington.
The midfielder, who said it was the biggest home crowd he’s ever seen, scored the final two goals, his 11th and 12th of the season, for the Vikings.
“We just came out here and fought,” said Warrington, who missed several minutes in the first half with a sore right knee but returned to score the eventual game-winner and an empty-net clincher in the final minutes.
“We wanted it more, I guess,” he added.
Warrington and fellow senior Eric Guenther scored first-half goals for Lake Stevens (13-2 in division and overall, 39 points). They helped the Vikings trip up a previously unbeaten Snohomish team (13-1, 39 points) that had outscored its opponents 69-6.
Both teams already qualified for the Class 4A District 1 tournament. Lake Stevens clinched no worse than the North No. 2 seed, while Snohomish will likely get the No. 1 seed and an automatic state tourney berth. (Snohomish is favored in its final two games, but Lake Stevens has only one more game.)
“Standings-wise, this is a meaningless game,” Lake Stevens head coach Scott Flanders said. “So we didn’t put a lot of importance on a win or a loss. … We just want to get prepared for the postseason.”
Fair enough, but the victory meant plenty to senior Wes Vanhooser, who assisted on the Vikings’ first goal and improved his all-time record against Snohomish to 1-5-2. What was different this time? Losing to the Panthers wasn’t an option, he said: “It gets pretty old after a while.”
“They worked harder than we did, so I give them all the credit in the world for that,” Snohomish head coach Dan Pingrey said.
Lake Stevens scored twice in the first half and led 2-1 at the break. The Vikings took advantage of a defensive miscue by Snohomish to take a 1-0 lead about six minutes into the game. After a Snohomish player failed to clear the ball out of the penalty box, Guenther stole it and converted a rare one-on-one chance against Daniel Carlson, Snohomish’s first-half keeper.
Snohomish seemed stunned, but later Snohomish’s Matt Berry drilled a hard kick inside the left post to tie it at 1-1 with 15 minutes to go in the half.
Warrington, whose twin brother Ryan also plays for Lake Stevens, scored his first goal of the night from about 20 yards out with less then two minutes to go in the first half. His second goal, an empty-net conversion in the closing minutes, essentially wrapped it up for the Vikings.
Senior goalkeeper Zach Hardwick (six saves) came up big all night for Lake Stevens. He stopped four shots in the second half, including a key one-on-one kick save with seven minutes to go in the game. Said Flanders, “Our defense held tight and Zach did a great job.”
Snohomish learned a lesson Friday, coach Pingrey said: The Panthers must deal with pressure, and distractions like the No. 1 ranking, because they can’t afford to lose again.
Notes: Brandon Kelley, Snohomish’s leading goal scorer (17), received a red card in the second half. As a result, he is suspended from Snohomish’s next two games, coach Pingrey said. … After the game, Warrington sprinted to the stands, hugged his parents, and then found a few seconds to ask his girlfriend to the senior prom. As for his sore knee, he said he felt no pain once he got back on the field. … About three dozen Lake Stevens students rushed the field to celebrate after the final whistle.
At Lake Stevens H.S.
Goals-Snohomish: Berry. Lake Stevens: Guenther, K. Warrington 2. Assists-Lake Stevens: Vanhooser. Goalkeepers-Snohomish: Carlson, MacArthur. Lake Stevens: Hardwick. Records-Snohomish 13-1 in division and overall. Lake Stevens 13-2, 13-2.
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