Unlikely scorers led the way in South Whidbey’s 3-0 win against the Sultan Turks late last week.
South Whidbey’s boys soccer team played past its roster changes and avenged an earlier loss to Sultan on Friday. Blaming another lackluster game on missing five players would have been convenient, but it didn’t happen.
“We knew that we were down players,” said Falcon senior co-captain Pat Myatt. “And that we knew we had to play our best to win. And that’s what we did.”
The Falcons rallied and rode the momentum of a goal in the third minute by sophomore Sam Turpin, assisted by Myatt.
“That first goal, it really pumped us up,” Myatt said. “It was a great buildup and Sam [Turpin] was right there to finish it in a great spot.”
Freshman James Young played the duration of the game, replacing injured forward Miles Goodman and injured midfielder Noah Moeller. Young scored in the 22nd minute on an assist from senior midfielder Mike Grimm and put South Whidbey ahead 2-0 before halftime.
“The guy [Young] is a work horse,” said South Whidbey head coach Joel Gerlach. “He puts in 110 percent every practice.”
Falcon senior midfielder David Woodbury finished the scoring night on another assist from Myatt in the 54th minute.
“The reserves, they did just a fantastic job,” Gerlach said, “It’s such a great thing as a coach to build on, because they came out and they played some of the best soccer I’ve seen them play all year.”
The win is South Whidbey’s second in a row and puts the four-game losing streak further behind the Falcons. South Whidbey (4-0-5 in Cascade Conference; 6-0-5 overall) moved into fourth place and faced seventh-place Lakewood (3-0-6; 4-0-7 overall) on Tuesday.
“Basically the kids knew, and we talked about this [in practice],” Gerlach said, “they knew they could play better soccer than Sultan.”
South Whidbey again played without senior all-conference defender Dean Freundlich, also a co-captain. The Falcons played without Moeller, the team’s leading scorer, due to a concussion. Senior defender Thomas White was sidelined with an illness.
Goodman, a senior forward, dislocated his right shoulder against Granite Falls, and sophomore forward Darby Hayes missed most of the game with Sultan after taking a knee to his head and getting a concussion.
The major personnel shifts daunted the team at first, but it used it as a rallying point.
“It was unbelievable,” Myatt said of the team’s win. “I didn’t think it would happen. I’m impressed with my team and how everybody stepped up.”
Perhaps more important to the Falcons, however, was the way they won.
Ball control, passing and possession were all problems South Whidbey’s head coach and team captains said contributed to the team’s prior losing streak.
“We controlled the ball way better than I’ve ever seen in the past two years I played with varsity,” said Falcon senior goalkeeper TJ Russell.
The ball control and possessions reduced the action around South Whidbey’s goal. Russell finished the shutout with nine saves — a dramatic reduction from the double-digit saves the week before.
Finishing goals was an issue in the losing streak and in South Whidbey’s wins. That problem was solved on Friday. South Whidbey scored more goals (six) in its past two games against Granite Falls and Sultan than it did in its previous six games (two).
“We did everything that we talked about [in practice],” Russell said.
On a two-game winning streak, South Whidbey’s co-captains were optimistic about a seasonal shift.
“I hope so, I really hope so,” Myatt said. “It feels different.”
The Falcons face Coupeville (3-0-6; 4-1-6 overall) at home on Friday, April 22. Coupeville won the previous game 3-0.
