It has been an interesting season for the OIHS Viking’s Boys Soccer. They started off on a fairly good run after dropping the first game to 3rd ranked in the state, Mount Vernon Christian, defeating Lopez Island 5-0, Cedar Park Christian 5-1, and Shoreline Christian 3-1. The Vikings then traveled to Grace Academy, the current runners up in the State Championship. At halftime The Vikings lost to Grace 1-0 thanks to a superb strike by junior and Captain Wylie Kau. But two late strikes by Grace Academy led to an emotional defeat.
Then the Vikings took a turn for the worse, losing four straight games to top-ranked teams. The Vikings had a brief turn around with two victories against Lopez and Cedar Park. Before long, playoff hopes were devastated once more by a loss to Shoreline Christian and were ultimately ended by LaConner in a brutal game that was tied all the way through regular time and extra time and had to be decided in penalty kicks. The Vikings played their final game against Providence Classical Christian.
Some notable moments throughout the season include Wylie Kau’s Hattrick in game one against Shoreline Christian. As well as William Coe’s goal in game two against Friday Harbor, ruining their clean sheet. Another memorable performance was that of Anthony Kaskurs in game one against Shoreline who made several incredible saves to deny goals. Another notable goalkeeper performance was Luis Arevalo in game two against Laconner who kept a clean sheet making amazing saves and aggravating the Laconner team to the point of tears. The season was characterized by superb defense work by Senior and Captain William and Anthony Kaskurs, who converted from goalkeeper to centerback. As well as the revelations of Ivan Velazquez and Skylar (Stretch) Gregg, both of who stepped up big to help out the Viking defense. Lee Pollard also converted from forward to defense to help out the Vikings. Steven “$teve” Bodenhammer and Henry McMurray continued to use their speed on the wings and Wylie Kau, Javier Orantes and Ishmael Rodriguez were key players in the midfeild. Promising freshman Kellen Maier also found his way onto the field using his superb passing to outsmart the opponent. Carlos Erazo and Luke Bronn were two of the most versatile players in the squad, always filling in where they were needed. The forwards consisted of Zach Waage, Jose Erazo who showed his immense speed and dribbling ability, and Gwydion Marreth who finally broke his crossbar curse scoring twice.
Wylie Kau was the top scorer for the Vikings this season netting eight goals. He was followed by Zach Waage with five goals. Javier Orantes was the leader of assists, setting up seven goals with his passes. The (unofficial) goal of the season goes to Henry McMurray with his precise chip against Lopez.
While the Vikings will miss irreplaceable seniors William Coe and Lee Pollard, the Vikings look forward to a fresh season next year with plenty of young talent and experienced players, who are hungering for more.