Timberwolves tumble to Marauders

EVERETT

The Jackson boys soccer team, after defeating Meadowdale on April 11, entered Tuesday night’s game looking to string together its first winning streak of the season.

That hope, however, fizzled in a 2-0 loss to Mariner at Goddard Stadium on April 17.

The loss dropped the Timberwolves to 3-7, keeping them near the bottom of the Western Conference South Division. Jackson has lost four of its past six games. The Marauders, who’ve scored nine goals in their last six games, improved to 4-7.

“There were times tonight when we played with brilliance,” first-year Jackson coach Brett Norton said. “But then we would fall apart. And that’s what it’s been like this season.”

Jackson, which is made up of mostly sophomores and juniors and has just two seniors on its roster, has netted just eight goals and has allowed 17 in 10 games played.

“We’ve had our ups and downs,” Norton said. “It’s been that kind of season. But we are a young team and I think they are still learning how to play with each other.”

Mariner’s Iram Inclan dazzled the crowd in the first half by heading in a perfect crossing pass from sophomore Emiliano Reyes in the 32nd minute to give Mariner a 1-0 lead. He’d strike again later in the game to help preserve the Mariner victory.

“The nice thing about this Mariner team is that all of our players are nice kids,” Mariner coach Vince DeSimone said. “We have a great amount of talent, but there are times during the season when we just can’t score a goal. But we’ve been working on that and lately we’ve been doing much better.”

The Marauders, for the most part, dominated play in the first half. They outshot the Timberwolves 8-4. But thanks to the solid play from Jackson junior goalkeeper Kevin Springer, only one of those shots found the back of the net.

Inclan, a junior forward, gave the Marauders a much- needed insurance goal in the 75th minute after he knocked in a bouncing ball, beating Springer from close range to give Mariner a comfortable 2-0 lead.