Falcons open season with 2 wins / Soccer

The South Whidbey High School soccer team welcomed in the 2019 season with a pair of wins.

The Falcons won twice at home, whipping Bellevue Christian 6-1 Saturday and Forks 2-1 Monday.

South Whidbey coach Emerson Robbins was especially pleased with his club’s performance in the win over BC. After displaying uneven play in the Island Jamboree Thursday in Oak Harbor, the Falcons were able to smooth out some of their problems after minimal practice time Friday and thump the Vikings.

“We had a long team chat about expectations and about our style and/or philosophy of offensive play,” Robbins said. “And the boys played exactly how we discussed. In that game, the guys played one- and two-touch passing, consistently switching the ball and the point of attack and used the channels and wider parts of the pitch. It was an absolute pleasure to watch.”

Next up is a home match with Chimacum (0-2) at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 14.

South Whidbey 6, Bellevue Christian 1

Graham Colar tallied the Falcons’ first goal of the season off an assist from Nevin Daniels, then Daniels scored after a “brilliant goal line overlap run” by Eli Waldron, according to Robbins.

Reilly McVay made it 3-0 on a goal from long range.

The fourth goal was a reverse of the first with Daniels hitting the net off an assist from Colar.

Cormac Workman celebrated his 18th birthday with a goal off a penalty kick.

The final South Whidbey goal was on an own-goal off a long throw-in by Workman.

The Vikings scored late in the contest against the South Whidbey reserves.

The Falcon center midfielders (Daniels on offense and Aidan O’Brien and Workman on defense) did “an outstanding job distributing the ball,” Robbins said.

Freshman Sequoia Durham, with guidance from Joey Lane, played well at center back, according to Robbins.

“I was a bit nervous putting a freshman in such a key position, but Sequoia is no ordinary freshman, and I’m looking forward to seeing great things from him,” Robbins said. “Fortunately, he has Joey Lane, one of the smartest players you could hope for, back there helping him.”

For the match, South Whidbey converted on an outstanding six of 11 shots on goal.

South Whidbey 2, Forks 1

The Falcons did not play as well against Forks, but they pulled out the win.

“We were up against a very scrappy Forks team, and although the effort was there, it wasn’t what I’d call our best showing,” Robbins said. “We out-shot them 15 to 3. However, the game was much closer than the shot count might indicate.”

South Whidbey scored the first two goals. Michael Lux tallied with a ground ball on a free kick, then Daniels scored with an assist from Colar.

A third goal, which Robbins called “our best,” was nullified by an offside call.

After Forks scored, South Whidbey keeper Julian Inches made several “big saves to kept us in the game and lead,” Robbins said.