Opponent Update

Sunnyside finished third in the conference at 8-4 (13-5 overall) and delivered League Champion Eastmont their only two losses of the season but lost in the first round of state. They were hit hard by graduation but have plenty of players coming back to stay competitive. The thing you have to remember about Sunnyside is they like to play “pretty” soccer. In other words they pass the ball a lot and wait for you to have a defensive break down that they turn into one on one scoring opportunities. Make no mistake they will be excellent at playing this style of soccer again this year. Everyone will have to maintain their defensive responsibilities and keep your shape. When the opportunity arises you have to tackle hard and play physical against them, this will make them not want to hang on to the ball and will disrupt their rhythm. As always they will draw a lot of fouls with theatrical diving and playing to the refs desires to hand out cards. We have to pick our spots and not draw fouls in dangerous areas. Sunnyside will do very well on set pieces again this season. Expect two hard fought games against them as they will be ambitious to finish as well or better than last season.

West Valley finished fourth place in the conference at 7-5 (9-7 overall) and lost in the first round of districts. West Valley was probably the hardest hit team due to graduation. Not only the number of players they lost but also the quality of players. The thing that stood out the most to me was their home record of 4-2 with both losses coming in one goal games. They are an extremely tough team to play on the road. Lampson Stadium was pretty friendly to them as well winning two games against one loss to Kamiakin. They will be welcoming a new coach and as I said before they lost many key players so they're kind of a wild card in the league. We’re not sure what significant players they’ll have coming back or what new tactics the first year coach will bring. One thing we do know is they return last season’s goalkeeper who played well all year, and you can count on them to not give away too many games at home.

Check back later for updates on Hanford and Kennewick.