Seniors slam door on regular boys soccer season

Published 6:00 pm Sunday, May 6, 2001

“The winner in a collision with a Nooksack player, Josh Mitchell clears the ball from the Falcons’ defensive zone. Mitchell is one of 12 seniors who will leave the soccer team this year.Matt Johnson / staff photosCheered on by parents, coaches, and one hard-core soccer dad who shaved his head and painted one half blue and one half white, the Falcon boys soccer team closed out their best-ever regular season Thursday night with a 4-1 win over the Nooksack Valley Pioneers.The Falcons took the fight out of the Pioneers early by scoring two unanswered goals, then pushing the score to 3-1 by half time. As it was the last home game for the team’s dozen seniors, it was only fitting that senior strikers R.J. Erickson and George Supang monopolized the scoring. The players rang up two goals apiece and three assists, which was enough to hold Nooksack at bay and to secure a 13-3 season record for South Whidbey.While his teammates were ratcheting up the score, senior defender Aaron McCabe – whose father, Bill, had shaved and painted his head for the game – protected senior goalkeeper Mike Johnson to keep goals against his team at a minimum. Now tied with Mount Baker for second place in the North Cascades Conference, the Falcons have a monumental task ahead of them as they begin district playoffs. Though they improved on last year’s 12-4 season record, the team has yet to prove itself against NCC champion Lynden Christian, which has beat South Whidbey in two contests this year.Today, the Falcons play Mount Baker in Sultan to determine who claims the second-place NCC spot. The Mountaineers have split two games with the Falcons this year.If the Falcons win today, they will have showdown with the Lyncs Tuesday. Win or lose, the Falcons will play again Thursday to move on toward the state tournament seeding games.Easy games, like a 6-1 match the Falcons won against Granite Falls Tuesday, are a thing of the past for the playoff-bound team. That game, said Falcon coach Mark Helpenstell, was picture perfect. He told his players that he wanted to see them pass at least 10 times before they took a shot on the Granite Falls goal. They followed his directions and completed the passing series in less than 45 seconds before Erickson nailed the fastest score in team history.It was scary, Helpenstell said.Erickson scored another goal just three minutes later, then turned the ball over to George Supang, Eric Salazar, and freshman Roy Ishii to further pad the team’s victory.The week of winning signals the beginning of an end for much of the varsity team. Twelve seniors – Kevin Brink, Sean Edwards, R.J. Erickson, George Supang, Mike D. Johnson, Mike J. Johnson, Aaron McCabe, Josh Mitchell, Isaiah Murphy, Clay Reaves, Eric Salazar, and Blake Skouras – graduate in June after helping build the team into one of the best in the state. The team placed second in the 2A state tournament last year. “