Knights fall to Overlake in 1A title match

RENTON — A late goal allowed No. 4 seed Overlake to defeat No. 3 Royal in Saturday’s 1A boys soccer state title game in Renton, with the Owls saving a Royal penalty kick in second-half stoppage time to seal the 1-0 victory.

“It’s a good team, and we had to battle,” Royal head coach Jens Jensen said. “The idea was just to try and lock it down and see if we couldn’t get something on them. We had a couple close calls — it’s too bad, but that’s soccer.”

Overlake scored off a corner kick in the 74th minute of the match, breaking the 0-0 tie held through most of the contest.

“We unfortunately were undone by a ball that gets loose on a set piece,” Jensen said. “At that point, it’s late in the game and you’re fatigued.”

In the final moments of the game Royal keyed in on making runs at the Owl net, eventually drawing an Owl red card in the penalty area for a late penalty attempt. The Overlake keeper saved senior Santiago Gonzalez’s shot.

“He’s injured a little, but he’s a senior and he’s our guy,” Jensen said. “It’s unfortunate, but it can happen.”

Jensen said the game plan was to play strong defense in the state title match, running a defensive shape to limit Owl opportunities at the net.

“Making sure we’re marked up, making sure that we’re not letting guys run free,” Jensen said. “Trying to shut down their studs, which I think by and large we did. (Junior Hayato Nagai), (senior Matthew Birov), (senior Will Case), these are guys that you have to stop. The idea was to frustrate them and force turnovers.”

Strong defensive performances have been key for the Knights this season, posting 13 clean sheets including three in the state playoffs; wins against No. 19 Meridian, No. 11 Seton Catholic and No. 2 Vashon Island, all of which were by scores of 1-0.

“The reality is that defenses win championships, and that’s how we got here,” Jensen said. “We got here on the back of our defense, and we stayed in this game as long as we did because of it. Right now it hurts, but it’s a great effort.”

Royal advanced to the 1A championship match after defeating No. 2 seed Vashon Island 1-0 in the semifinals on Friday. The lone goal came toward the end of the first half, scored by sophomore Victor Aquino on a pass from senior Miguel Soriano.

“We had these chances around the net on free kicks and corners, and we get loose and scored one,” Jensen said. “Then we just locked it down.”

Saturday’s second-place finish was the highest placing in the state tournament in Royal’s program history.

“These boys – even though it’s not necessarily the (placement) we wanted, they made history,” Jensen said. “They did something that nobody else from Royal has done, and got into this game and took it down to the last five minutes.”

The Knights will return 13 players for the 2025 season. Jensen said the main takeaway from this year is focusing on the season as a whole.

“That’s what I think these boys learned: our league is a freaking battle, so you might drop a game here or there,” Jensen said. “You might have hard times, but they’re battle-tested. They come through and you find people, and as the season goes on you try to drop people in different spots. All in all, I think what they take away from it is, ‘Okay, let’s make sure that we keep our focus on May, and let’s make sure that we’re thinking about a full season.”

Royal will have 10 seniors graduate off of this year’s roster; Luis Deras, Jose Victoriano, Soriano, Gonzalez, Nathan Jimenez, Jairo Machado, Jesus Antonio-Priciliano, Case Christensen, Joby Villalobos and Freddy Cabrera.

“They had this opportunity and they got this, so I’m so happy for them,” Jensen said. “I’m grateful that they had the chance.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com. 

Box Score

OVR: 0-1 1

ROY: 0-0 0

    Royal sophomore Ernesto Deras (6) brings the ball upfield during the first half of the 1A boys soccer state championship game on Saturday in Renton.
  

    Royal senior Santiago Gonzalez (12) attempts to get past an Overlake defender during Saturday’s 1A state championship game against the Owls.
  

    Royal sophomore Victor Aquino (18) scored the lone goal of Friday’s state semifinal win over No. 2 seed Vashon Island.