SNOHOMISH — At first, Federico Zamolo thought the ball was going wide. Glacier Peak boys soccer led 1-0 against Snohomish just nine minutes before halftime when they were given a free kick right in front of half field. Zamolo stepped up to take it, and the senior defender recognized the Snohomish goalie was playing up off his line, since the free kick was so far back.
Zamolo had scored from a similar distance last year, so he decided to go for it. Zamolo gave it plenty of power, but perhaps too much as the ball soared up field.
Then the ball started to lose altitude. ‘Maybe it’s going to go in,’ Zamolo thought to himself. Sure enough, the shot flew perfectly into the top right corner, and Grizzlies (1-0) took a two-goal lead before cruising to a 4-0 win against the Panthers (0-1) to open the season on Wednesday.
“I aimed for the goal, and at least if I don’t (score), somebody’s going to go near the keeper, maybe they put it in,” Zamolo said. “So I just aimed for that, and it went in.”
GP scores, 2-0
Impressive strike from defenseman Federico Zamolo, who sends a shot into the top right corner from just ahead of the half line on a free kick.
Grizzlies double their lead 9 min before halftime
— Joe Pohoryles (@Joe_Poho) March 13, 2025
Zamolo’s goal highlighted a dominant season-opener for the Grizzlies, who controlled the vast majority of possession from start to finish, rarely allowing Snohomish into their end.
For a team that graduated 12 players from last year’s Wesco 4A championship squad and only had two returning starters, it was a surprisingly cohesive start to the season.
“We were mostly just looking for combinations of players today,” Glacier Peak coach Dante Casagrande said. “Where guys are comfortable with each other, how they were going to work for each other. … Everything looked great. I was real happy for the first game.”
Among plenty of new faces on the varsity roster, none are quite as ‘new’ as Zamolo, who is an exchange student from Udine, Italy — near Venice. He arrived in Snohomish in September for his senior year at Glacier Peak, and he will return to Italy in June.
After trying out football in the fall and wrestling in the winter — both of which he enjoyed — Zamolo is happy to close out his time at Glacier Peak playing the sport he loves. Playing in his first game, Zamolo felt nervous since he “had a lot to prove.” Safe to say he proved something on Wednesday.
“That’s individual skill,” Casagrande said. “Those guys, they come into the season with that. I don’t do anything with that, so that was awesome to see.”
With captain Gael Guerrero recovering from injury, it was Zamolo who wore the captain’s armband for the Grizzlies, a decision that caught Zamolo completely by surprise.
“(Casagrande) decided to trust me, and I tried my best to pay him back for the trust,” Zamolo said.
Before Zamolo’s stunner, senior midfielder Tate Swetman put the Grizzlies on the board about nine minutes into the game, finishing off a free kick sent into the box by lobbing the ball over a swarm of Panthers defenders to take a 1-0 lead.
Glacier Peak had a couple of close chances in front of the net in the final three minutes before halftime, but Snohomish snuffed both out to remain down by two.
Snohomish’s best chance of the night came with around 22 minutes left in the game. In a rare break, the Panthers got through with senior midfielder Tanner Hudson streaking down the right side. Hudson sent an accurate cross to the feet of senior Bryant Antonio Recendez in front, but he sent the ball over the bar. The forward crumpled to the ground in disbelief.
Less than six minutes later, sophomore forward Tyler Larsen strolled into the box and beat Panthers goalie Eric Harding to make it 3-0. With under 11 minutes to go, the Snohomish defense was caught out of position on a Glacier Peak cross. The ball settled at the feet of sophomore midfielder Rafael Nathan Leong, who had plenty of time to send the ball into the exposed net for the 4-0 final.
Final: Glacier Peak wins 4-0
The Grizzlies controlled the game from start to finish, not allowing the Panthers to control much possession in their end while capitalizing on a couple set pieces and good passes.@HeraldNetPreps
— Joe Pohoryles (@Joe_Poho) March 13, 2025
“We lost a lot of guys, so trying to fill in these spots is pretty tough,” said Grizzlies reserve goalkeeper Hadden Brown, who was subbed in towards the end of the game. “But I think we’re starting to get into that groove, and I think it’s going to be a great season.”
Despite putting four into the back of the net, Casagrande believed his team left a lot on the field, which he expected for a group that has only played together for eight days. But there were few complaints following a better-than-expected start for a completely reshuffled roster.
Growing pains are to be expected as the early season goes on, but the Grizzlies are happy with their early returns.
“We are still setting some things, but we’re working (well) together,” Zamolo said. “I think we are already a good team. We’re putting all the pieces together, and we’re going to do our best (to) keep the Wesco championship in our home.”
There’s still a long way to go in the season, but as Zamolo exemplified, things that seem further may actually be closer than they appear.
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