U-12 boys take second in tourney

The boy's U-12 South Whidbey Islanders took home second place in their division during the Mukilteo Youth Soccer Club's annual 2005 Turkey Shoot Soccer Tournament in Everett Nov. 20.

The tournament started on Friday night against the club's regular season nemesis, the Mukilteo Blue Vipers, who won the game.

The Viper victory set the stage for must-wins in the next two games, and the Islanders began by beating the Mukilteo Strikers 3-0 Saturday morning.

"The next day found the Islanders up against the Predators, another well-prepared team who were noticeably larger on average than the scrappy kids from Whidbey," noted Coach Mark Churchill.

"The Islanders took charge early on with surgical strikes that defeated the Predators 3-1, thereby cementing their second-place finish in an exciting and well-played game," the coach added.

"The energy on the field and the sidelines was positively electric," Churchill said. "This group of fine young boys has been working together since August to improve both personal skills and teamwork. And it showed."

Each of the following teammates made consistent contributions in their tournament victory:

Forwards - Riley Keefe Rayner, Taylor Todd and Aaron Simon.

Defenders - Oliver Rock, Shane Ball, Larry Hurlburt and Will Habel.

Midfielders - Markus Churchill, Guy Sparkman, Ben Poirier, Patrick Riebel, Hayden Nichols, Jimmy Price and Will Mellish.

Goalies - Darby Hayes, Garret Thomson and Will Russell.

The team travels to Bremerton Dec. 3 for the Dairy Farmers of Washington President Cup.

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