An explosive early start by Shoreline spelled doom for the South Whidbey Revolution U-13 boys team, with the islanders unable to surmount a three-goal deficit and eventually falling 3-1 in select league play.
The recent heartbreaking loss left the Revolution just short of the quarterfinals.
“Our team came out a little flat and lacked its usual intensity. We had beaten this team earlier in December, but they had the greater intensity and efficiency in their passing game,” said Revolution coach Terry Swanson.
“The boys worked hard and will look forward to playing this team again in the future,” he added.
Oliver Saunsauncie scored the lone goal for the Revolution on an assist from Quinn Hassrick in the second half.
The team’s march to the Shoreline showdown was impressive.
The team advanced to the Commissioner’s Cup elimination round by defeating the CW Alliance 2-0 on the road in Camus late last month.
The Revolution dominated play most of the game, and controlled the ball for three quarters of the time.
It wasn’t until the 25th minute of the first half that Davin Kesler scored on a direct penalty shot following a hand ball by the Alliance defender.
Early in the second half, Kai Da Rosa drove in the second goal from a well-placed shot outside the 18-yard box.
For the remainder of the game, the Revolution controlled the tempo and preserved the team’s two-goal advantage.
Swanson said the team came out a little flat.
“Passes were missing intended targets, and we were a little slow moving to space and creating open passing lanes,” he said.
“It may be partly due to the travel, hotel beds, restaurant food and the excitement of being on the road, but in the end, the boys did what they needed to do on the field,” he added.
Swanson also noted several areas of improvement.
“The communication between our goalkeeper, Charley Stelling, and our defenders — Anders Bergquist, Parker Buchanan, Jordan Henriot, Oliver Saunsauncie and Tom Swanson — were very strong throughout the game,” he noted. “There were at least six instances in the game where balls were nicely passed back to Charley under pressure, and then immediately distributed to our midfielders for rapid counterattacks.
“The defenders are showing consistent improvement in their volleying and heading. Our outside midfielders — Quinn Hassrick, Jeffrey Meier, Cole Zink and Andy Zisette — played very well on both sides of the field. This position requires considerable endurance in a 4-4-2 configuration, as they play the entire length of the field both defensively and offensively,” he said.
The coach also said Andy Zisette was working hard in practice on his corner kicks, and inside midfielders Bryce Auburn, Kameron Donohoe and Lucas Leiberman have continued to improve on their heading and volleys.
Overall, the Revolution had a stellar season, amassing a 13-win, 3-tie and 2-loss record over the past five months.
The team scored 45 goals and gave up only 20 goals over the previous 17 games, including the Revolution’s two “friendlies” that were held in December.
The team is comprised of local sixth- and seventh- graders from Langley Middle School. Team members include goalkeeper Charley Stelling; defenders Anders Bergquist, Parker Buchanan, Jordan Henriot, Oliver Saunsauncie, Thomas Swanson and Cole Zink; midfielders Bryce Auburn, Kameron Donohoe, Donald Gambill, Lucas Leiberman, Jeffrey Meier and Andy Zisette; and forwards Kai Da Rosa, Quinn Hassrick and Davin Kesler.
The Revolution won’t get much time to relax, however. The team will start playing competitive soccer again on Feb. 21 in the Puget Sound Premier League, and will have another chance to play in a Washington state-level tournament later in April.
