The Edmonds-Woodway boys soccer team is finally starting to get it.
Because of the high level of returning talent this season, Warrior coach Tony Gilman decided to install a new system of play.
It’s taken some time for Edmonds-Woodway to become totally comfortable with the new system, which is called 4-3-2-1.
“It’s the kind of thing that you’d expect professional teams, colleges and select teams to run,” Gilman said. “It’s tied to the personnel. I feel we have the personnel. Convincing them we have it has been a challenge.”
The system requires a lot of the players, whose roles are a little more defined. The players’ runs and the places where they need to be on the field also are more specific, Gilman said.
“We’re finally starting to get on top of it,” he added.
The Warriors’ first few games were in essence practice sessions. Although the team ran the new system against the junior varsity squad, it was difficult to gauge the progress since the JV knew what the varsity was trying to do.
The system worked fine in the first half against Kamiak in a Western Conference South Division game on March 25. The Warriors took a 1-0 lead into halftime. The second half saw a bit of a breakdown and a loss of composure, Gilman said. The Knights outscored Edmonds-Woodway 3-1 to pull out the victory.
The Warriors return a sophomore-dominated squad with a few juniors and seniors in the mix. The sophomores are high level players, Gilman said.
“Just about everybody we brought back for varsity played some on the varsity team,” he added. “I don’t think we have any first-time varsity players.”
The Edmonds-Woodway offense is led by junior Max Doolittle, who’s scored a team-high six goals through last week. Senior Justin Milone is second on the team with three goals. Senior Blake Bennett is another key component of the offense.
“He makes things happen because of his hustle and hard work,” Gilman said of Bennett. “He creates problems for other teams. He forces errors.”
The Warriors have good height and what Gilman describes as better than average speed across the board.
Junior goalkeeper Nick Kratzke played in about half of last year’s games and is the lone goalie on the varsity roster. If needed, Gilman will turn to a couple of field players.
Junior defender Tommy Schofield along with senior Rory Anderson, sophomore Landon Machado and senior Dustin Alexander have backed Kratzke up well so far. The midfield consists of senior Roy Hanson and sophomores Jeremy Wentzel and Abe Hehn.
Gilman hasn’t hesitated to look to his bench to spell his regulars and so far the reserves had done a good job, he said.
Edmonds-Woodway finished third in the league in 2007 but was second among the 4A teams. The Warriors, currently fifth, have some work to do.
“Making the playoffs is always a goal for us,” Gilman said. “We’d like to improve on last year’s finish.”
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