Coach expects team to compete for top spot
Sophomore keeper Carlos Quintero makes a save against Mabton during the playoffs.Sophomore Michael Rojas, 7, drives up the field with a Connell player in pursuit.
ROYAL CITY — The Royal High soccer team took a stinging defeat in its last match of the season, falling 6-0 to state-bound Connell, but the Knights have nothing of which to be ashamed, Coach Jens Jensen believes.
Connell likely played its best game of the year on the same day Royal was putting out its worst performance. The Eagles, which had won two regular games from them by one goal each, took advantage of a defensive weakness in the Royal middle.
The Knights finished the season 11-4-5 overall with third place in the SCAC West, with all of the losses coming to the state’s best teams. The great news is that this club was relatively young.
“With only two teams advancing into the state tournament this season, good teams were going to be left out,” Jensen said.
Unfortunately for the Knights, there was a recurring injury to starting center defender, Valente Cortez. It occurred during both Connell matches in the regular season.
After each injury the Knights struggled to plug the hole. There were hints that they were suspect during these patches, and the hole was “ripped wide open” during a contest at Chelan and then against Connell in Districts.
“As a coaching staff, we knew that we would need to concentrate our efforts on being organized and disciplined defensively, and I think we did a good job of that for three-fourths of the season,” Jensen said. “The injury to Valente required us to take more chances in the attack, and we hurt ourselves further by changing our shape after the second Wahluke match. In hindsight, the changes we made exposed us and also created a toothless attack.”
That being, The Knights played well for the vast majority of the season and tap-danced through some thorny patches in a way that provided valuable experience for the younger players.
“We are confident that experience will pay dividends in the future,” Jensen said.
One experienced player who will likely be a team leader is sophomore Michael Lopez. He led the team in scoring.
“We have him for two more years,” Jensen said.
Rojas made the SCAC East all-league team. Three Other Knights, Valente Cortez, Israel Cortez and Jose Ponce, made the first team.
Also back next year will be sophomore keeper Ramses Gonzales.