Jarad Brisbin Makes College Choice.

Team Captain and four year starter Jarad Brisbin has decided to play his college ball at Western Washington University.

Jarad is a three time all conference selection at three different positions, including last year's first team selection at forward. He was also nominated to the Tri-City Herald's all area team as a first team selection.

Jarad led the Suns in scoring his freshmen and sophomore years and was the second leading scorer last year. He has scored 13 goals and assisted 12 during his high school career.

Bris has been instrumental in the rebuilding of the Suns Soccer Program, he came into a team that had only won three varsity games in the previous four years. Although his freshmen year the team had another one win season they played in seven shootouts and 12 one goal games. This was the turning point in the program and in the following two years the Suns have posted 18 wins and Jarad has been the leader of the team in that time.

Western gets a versatile player who can play either as a holding midfielder or a defensive center back at the college level. He is dominant in the air and can shut down the best of players in one on one situations. Western finished the season at 8-11-1 but were a respectable 5-3 in league play. Everyone who has been associated with Jarad is proud of him and knows that he will succeed at the next level.

He has one more important season to play before he can worry about moving to Bellingham.

Off Season Schedule

Chip wanted to let everyone know that Dec. 2nd we will have our preseason meeting during lunch in Mr. Homme's room. All prospective players need to show up, no matter if your a returning letter winner or a freshmen everyone needs to attend. This meeting is where you will get all of your information for the upcoming season. Please pass the word along to anyone you think may want to play.

Many players have asked for the opportunity to do some soccer specific weight training and now you'll have your chance. Starting Tuesday December 8th from 5-7 we will be working out in the weight room at SHS. We will go Tuesday's, Wednesday's and Thursday's all of December and January.

We will start our conditioning camp Tuesday February 2nd at Lampson Stadium. It will run the same dates and times as the weight training sessions the entire month of February.

First day of practice is March 1st!

What's Going On

Well it's been awhile since there's been a post and although there's still four months until the high school season starts the boys are plying their trade at the club level.

Seniors
Captain Jarad Brisbin accepted an invitation to play for Snohomish United and helped lead his team to an undefeated regular season league title. (10-0) Snohomish led the league in goals scored (32) goal differential (+29) and were tops in the league only conceding three goals.

John Zoulek has returned from injuries that have kept him out of the last two seasons. He played for the Sun City Strikers.

Captain Brandon Hale has taken a year off from club ball but continues to work out with a u16 team. As long as he stays healthy he will hold all the major goalkeeping records at Southridge when his career is finished.

Juniors
Bill Landefeld, Josh Mendoza, Zach Russell, Conner Cravens & Adolfo Garcia are playing for the u17 Three Rivers Celtic team that finished in fifth place (4-2-4) in the league table. This was Celtic's first year in premier one and they played really well only losing two games all season. Bill was the second leading scorer on the team with six goals. Celtic were tops in the league only conceding nine goals, no surprise that three of the starting four defenders were Josh, Zack & Conner.

Sophomores
Jake Zoulek, Chandler Mertens, Keaton Hale, Brandon T. & incoming freshmen play up Conner Mertens played for the u16 Three Rivers United team . United won five of their last seven games to finish in fourth place (6-5-1). Jake lead the team in scoring with 15 goals while Chandler pitched in with five, and Keaton added two. The Southridge trio accounted for 65% of United's 34 goals scored, which gave them the second most goals in the league.

Head Coach Chip Elfering stepped down from his duties as a coach with the Southridge football team and is a volunteer assistant for his wife Sara at Richland. This was Sara's first year as head coach and led RHS to a 15-4 record and won the CBBN league title.

Assistant Coach Riley Dodson coached his first year at the club level and his Three Rivers u14 girls team finished undefeated at 8-0-2 and won the league title. The "Rage" led the league in scoring with 35 goals, had the best goal differential (+30) while only conceding 5 goals all year.

So as you can see the players have stayed busy improving their skills, and are looking forward to high school ball. While the coaches have been busy with their off season duties they are now ready for the upcoming season and have high hopes for this years squad.

Playoff Picture

After dropping the 3a teams out of the final standings the top eight teams will take part in the district playoffs.

After just one playoff appearance in the history of the program your Suns are now making back to back playoff appearances. This time as the third seed we will host a home game against eighth seed Walla Walla. We hope to have as many fans as possible in the stands to support the boys, the games we've played our best in we have had wonderful fan support. This game is a momentous occasion as a win will send us to the Regional Tournament for the first time ever, a loss on the other had will end our season. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Pasco plays Kamiakin in the District Championship, with both teams already having secured a regional berth.

Davis plays host to Moses Lake and Eisenhower will host Kennewick in loser out contests.

We're Back

Sorry I haven't had a post for a while, after the Davis game we had to focus on getting back to playing Sun Soccer and that took all of our time and energy.

Some quick recognition from the Davis game; Jake Zoulek scored his ninth goal of the year, on Taylor Barnes first career assist. We were only the second team to score at Davis this year and the first in a month. Goalkeeper Brandon Hale played a great game making seven saves including two 1v1 breakaways.

The West Valley game saw our return to form as we battled one of the toughest teams in the league. The Rams were on a nine game win streak and were led by in form striker Junior Ayala, who had tallied a league best 23 goals. He would however prove no match for the suns physical play as Senior leader Corey Grady made it his goal to knock Junior down early and often. This set the tone for the match and the rest of the team stepped up and matched the intensity. We were unlucky to have a first half goal called back for a foul. Adolfo Garcia sent a high cross into the box off a rebound from a corner kick and Grady rose up to smash the ball into the back of the net. It was the referees view that Grady pushed off a defender to gain an advantage and the goal was disallowed. Junior Captain Jarad Brisbin had to headers saved by the keeper, as the Suns were able to dominate the aerial attack. Once again Brandon Hale's play between the pipes was stellar as he made eight saves and picked up his school record 10th shutout of the season.

The game would go to sudden death overtime and in the closing seconds Freshmen Jake Zoulek's upper 90 shot was saved by the West Valley keeper. So the game was to be decided in a shootout and despite an opening round save from Hale, and spot kicks converted by Brisbin, Tanner Crass, and Garcia the Rams won the shootout and kept second place for themselves while we settled for fourth.

Around The League

The Suns enjoyed a much needed weekend off before we make our assault on the final week of the season and hopefully a deep run into the playoffs.

Here is what happened in the Big Nine this weekend.

Most of the matches had predictable outcomes with the exception of two. The most important one was Kamiakin at Davis. A Pirate victory would give Southridge a fighting chance to earn second place in the league and a guaranteed spot in Regionals. Luck was with us as the Braves conceded a goal in the 11th minute, and goalkeeper Abel Bautista picked up a red card in the 55th. Davis would seal the deal with a goal four minutes from the final whistle. Kamiakin now has to deal with West Valley who is ranked 9th in the state in 3A and has won eight in a row without Bautista manning the pipes.

If we win our last two games and Kamiakin drops one against West Valley or Pasco we'll have the second spot and the chance for a district title.

The other match in question was Walla Walla at Ike. Ike picked up the 2-1 win and dropped Walla Walla into the final playoff spot.

The only other surprise of the day was that Pasco could only muster one goal against Kennewick, but it was enough for a 1-0 victory. Pasco stays unbeaten and ranked 1st in the state. The Lions dropped their fourth league match in a row (fifth overall) and currently sit in the fifth spot for playoff seeding.

Sunnyside beat Eastmont in a shootout, and West Valley won 5-0 against Hanford. Senior Junior Ayala scored two goals to bring his season tally to an incredible 22.

Richland is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with a 3-1 loss to Moses Lake. The Chiefs moved up to the seventh playoff spot.

This is how the playoff seeding works. At the end of the regular season the 3A teams drop out of the standings and the top eight 4A teams play districts.

Number One V Number Two. Winner is District Champion and number one seed to regionals. Loser of this game plays for second or third seed to regionals.

Number Three V Number Eight. Loser out. Winner plays loser of the district championship with the winner going to regionals as the number two seed and the loser number three.

Number Four V Number Seven. Loser Out. Winner plays one more game for final seed to regionals.

Number Five V Number Six. Loser Out. Winner plays winner of four v seven with loser out and winner number four seed to regionals.

Streak Ended

Last night our incredible nine game win streak came to an end. Our school record of 560 minutes without conceding a goal also came to an end. It was an impressive run that covered parts of seven consecutive games. This was a total team effort and every player deserves the praise.

The game was very exciting to watch with both teams getting good chances in the first half. Both goal keepers made impressive saves to keep their teams in the game. Southridge keeper Brandon Hale made a diving save off a shot from one of the leagues most dangerous players, then 10 minutes later he stopped a point blank shot that had goal written all over it. Hale would finish with 10 saves on the night. Jarad Brisbin had a goal scoring chance cleared off the line by Kamiakin's Evan Johnson, and Adolfo Garcia sent a dangerous Jarad Brisbin cross over the top of the cross bar.

In the second half there were four minutes gone win Kamiakin earned a free kick from 25 yards out. It was Senior Captain Gavin Richter who stepped to the ball brimming with confidence after scoring off a kick from the exact same spot in their last game against Hanford. The ball was struck sweetly over the top of Hales perfectly positioned wall, then dropped several feet to find the back of the net. It was the first league game that the Suns had been behind since the opening week against Pasco on March 14th. A concern of the coaching staff was was after not trailing in nine games and over five weeks, how would the team handle this situation? The boy's showed their resilience and didn't drop their heads as they continued to battle Kamiakin. Brisbin decided to show his own quality on a free kick that was over 35 yards out. He struck a powerful ball that curled around the wall and required a diving save from Abel Bautista which he turned away for a corner kick. With 19 minutes left in the game Senior Captain Tanner Crass was forced to abandon his defensive duties as he was called on to become the third forward the Suns needed to increase the pressure on the oppositions defense. It was with six minutes in the game that Crass almost became the hero, he struck a brilliant left footed volley that required all of Bautista's skill to force the ball over the cross bar and out of his goal earning the Suns fifth corner of the night.

The game unfortunately ended 1-0 as Kamiakin took over sole possession of second place, and sent Southridge to third. The boy's played with a ton of heart and left everything on the field. It was a well deserved win for Kamiakin and a lesson learned for Southridge. We are all proud of the way the team played and look forward to our last two games of the season against Davis and West Valley.

A special thanks to all those fans who attended the game. It was the largest turnout in the history of the program and the players, coaches, and parents appreciated the support that was shown. The players feed of the energy that's created and they wanted to win the game for the fans as much as for themselves. Please continue to show your support as we are guaranteed a home playoff game and nothing would be better than to have this kind of support during the postseason. Thanks again.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Jake Zoulek sixth goal of the year on Jarad Brisbins ninth assist.

Zach Russel's second goal of the year on Tanner Crass' fourth assist.

Zoulek's seventh goal on Brisbin's 10th assist.

Jarad Brisbin's eight goal of the year on Jake Zoulek's third assist.

Jake Zoulek's eighth goal of the season.

Nine In A Row

On Saturday the Suns played the Hanford Falcons and were looking to win their ninth league match in a row and their 10th out of 11 overall.

The game was potentially problematic with Southridge coming off a huge win over Kennewick and with Tuesday's upcoming league tie with Kamiakin, the Suns ran the risk of overlooking Hanford. The Falcons upset bid over Kamiakin fell just short in a shootout loss in their previous game.

The goal for the team was to come out, score quick and often. We got the first part right in the third minute Jake Zoulek provided a wonderful through ball for Jarad Brisbin to tally his eighth goal of the season. The rest of the half saw some good opportunities but unfortuantley none were finished. At halftime the coaches told the boy's not to be satisfied with the way they were playing, and not to let Hanford hang around. They have enough dangerous players that the longer you let them hang around the worse things can get for you.

The boys took the message to heart and two minutes into the second half Adolfo Garcia hit a hard shot that was deflected by a defender and Jake Zoulek cracked a shot from close range that was too hot for the keeper to handle and went into the roof of the net.

The game finished with those two goals and another victory for Southridge.

Next up the Suns take on their biggest rival Kamiakin. This game is huge for several reasons. Other than school pride, and bragging rights, currently both teams have one loss in league and the winner of this game will have second place to themselves, and the inside track to the district championship match against likely League Champion Pasco. In the eleven year history of the rivalry the two teams have never met each other this late in the season with both teams as high as they are in the league table. Also the Suns currently hold the City Of Kennewick Trophy and can maintain ownership for an unprecedented two years in a row.

A lot is at stake in this game, please get as many people to the match as possible. The team was encouraged by the large fan turnout against Kennewick and fed off the atmosphere that was created. We need to play our best game of the year tomorrow and your support will help!

Great Win

Last night's game against Kennewick was the best game the Suns have played so far this year. The boys came out ready to play and showed focus and determination throughout the whole game. Since last Saturday's win over Wenatchee the players had been anxiously awaiting their cross town rivals who have been playing their best soccer in years.

We wanted to come out ready to play from the opening whistle and it took just two minutes for Jarad Brisbin to spring Jake Zoulek into open space and the freshmen did well to calmly slot the ball underneath the on rushing keeper. It was just a few minutes later that a free kick was earned just short of the midfield and it was Senior Captain Tanner Crass who sent a beautiful ball into the box. The Kennewick keeper came out to try and gather the ball but Sophomore Zack Russell redirected the ball at the last moment and collected his second goal of the year. Crass collected his fourth assist of the season and his second in two games. The Lions had trouble dealing with the physical play of Southridge and with the referee deciding to award the vast majority of the calls to Kennewick the Suns were doing well to take the 2-0 lead into halftime.

The boy's were excited to have the lead but they weren't satisfied and they knew Kennewick wouldn't give up in the second half. Coach Elfering made a few minor adjustments to the formation and told the team to keep playing hard. It was in the third minute of the second half when the game was put away, and again it was the Brisbin-Zoulek connection that beat the Lions defense. Freshmen Jake Zoulek collected his team tying seventh goal of the season which is good for third best in the League. Junior Captain Jarad Brisbin brought his league leading assist total to nine, which goes along with his seven goals.

Once again the defense played outstanding as they had to deal with Kennewick's in form striker who had scored five goals in just four varsity games played. The defense manhandled the opposing team and Junior Captain Brandon Hale came up with a season high 10 saves to earn his eighth shutout of the year. None of his saves were more important than in the first half when the game was 1-0, a Kennewick winger took a shot from about 25 yards out. With Hale off his line to cut down the angle the player hit a beautiful shot that would have scored on most any keeper in our league. But hale stretched his 6'2" frame and punched the ball over the cross bar for the crucial save.

We as coaches, fans, and parents are extremely proud of the way the team played last night, it was a huge game for the league standings as well as for school pride. This is the brand of Southridge Soccer that we expect to be played game in and game out.

Walla Walla Game Winner

Here is video of the goal against Walla Walla. Jarad Brisbin takes the ball and sends a cross to the other side of the field and Freshmen Jake Zoulek lets the ball bounce one time before striking the ball and sending it to the only place the keeper couldn't get it. This goal took place in the stoppage time of the second half and the Suns went on to win 1-0.

Job Well Done!

Ten days ago the Southridge Suns were 3-1 in league, right in the middle of the table with a bunch of other teams, and had the daunting task of playing four games in one week. Of the four games two were at home and two were away, with the away games taking us from the edge of South Eastern Washington to the middle of Central Washington in three days. As coaches we want to win every game but in all actuality we would have been happy to walk away from this stretch winning three games, and as tough as the stretch was two victories wouldn't have been the end of the world.

After sweeping our way through the first three we faced a stern challenge in the Wenatchee Panthers. They have some very dangerous attacking players and a very good goalkeeper. We knew going up there that despite their recent run of three losses in a row that we had a battle on our hands from the very beginning. The Suns played physical and challenged every ball, we were getting some good chances on goal and in the 29th minute Senior Captain Tanner Crass drove a free kick into the box where Jarad Brisbin headed it home for his Seventh goal of the campaign. It was Tanner's third assist of the season as the defender/midfielder/forward continues to do everything that is asked of him. He is currently enjoying his best season as a Sun, and look for more great things from him as the season continues.

The one goal would be enough to carry us through after some great goalkeeping and stout play from the back line. After posting his fourth shutout of the week Junior Captain Brandon Hale tied his own record of shutouts in a season with seven. Hale is quick to point out how great his defense is playing and acknowledges that without their effort things could be drastically different. Head Coach Chip Elfering has also credited the defense for not allowing a goal in the past 360 minutes "it's a total team effort, yes Conner Cravens, Phil Vorhies, Tanner Crass, and Josh Mendoza are playing great but without the midfielders coming back to help and even the forwards applying pressure to the ball the defense wouldn't be able to shut teams down"

The Suns are currently tied with cross town rival Kamiakin in second place with our next opponent Kennewick one game back. Please tell all your family members and friends to come to the game on Thursday at 7:00 pm. This is also a rivalry game and with both teams fighting to be top of the table it should be a great high school soccer match.

Stoppage Time Winner

Last night we traveled to Walla Walla in an attempt to win our third road game in a row and our sixth overall. The game was an important one with Kennewick one game back a loss would have dropped us to fourth place. The boys understood the importance of the game and decided to focus all their attention on it from the moment they got on the bus until the final whistle.

The first half was dominated by Southridge's defense as they didn't allow a shot on goal and forced the Blue Devil keeper into three important saves. Senior Corey Grady played really well in the middle winning the majority of the 50-50 balls, as well as dribbling through the middle of the field on several occasions. The half time talk was one of encouragement as we felt the boys were playing really well and just needed a few more opportunities to find the back of the net.

In the first fifteen minutes of the second half the Suns had four golden goal scoring opportunities that unfortunately were either wide of the mark or just over the cross bar. in the 65th minute Jarad Brisbin broke down the right side of the defense and after Bill Landefeld stepped over the ball Trent Mccoullgh struck a powerful shot that required a diving save from the keeper. A scary moment just seconds later saw a loose ball in front of Branden Hales goal get struck by a Walla Walla attacker and luckily for us hit the post and was cleared away by sweeper Josh Mendoza. After some time wasting by the home side and about two minutes into stoppage time Jarad Brisbin took the ball form the left side of the field and switched it to the other side where Freshmen Jake Zoulek let the ball bounce once before hitting a first time shot to the far post thus winning the game for the Suns. It was Brisbins Seventh assist of the season, and Zouleks fifth goal. It should also be noted that of the five goals, three of them have been game winners.

An important match with Wenatchee will be played on Saturday at the Apple Bowl, and a Suns victory will cap an impressive four matches in one week unbeaten run.

Long Time Coming

On Tuesday we faced Eastmont and this game has been circled on the schedule since last year. A little history on the series; Southridge has never beat them, last season we lost at home in a shootout after a 0-0 draw, then we played them in a regional playoff game and after a 1-1 draw we lost the shootout again thus ending our season. So as you could imagine the boys wanted to win this game very badly.

Eastmont is having a down year. This could be expected after losing the league MVP from two seasons ago as well as all conference defenders, goal keeper and forward. However, after the first few minutes of the game we could tell they aren't that far off from their quality of play over the last three seasons. They were able to knock the ball around with precision and purpose. The only thing they were lacking was a good goal scorer or a player to set up goals. Luckily for us we have both of those, Jarad Brisbin got his conference leading sixth assist in the 15th minute on a beautiful ball that was crossed to Sophomore Zach Russell. Congratulations are in order to Zach who got his first career varsity goal. Freshmen Jake Zoulek who has enjoyed all four of his goals on assists form Brisbin decided to repay the favor as he set up Jarad's sixth goal of the year. Goalkeeper Branden Hale booted a long ball which Senior Corey Grady flicked on to the feet of Zoulek, who then played a nice ball down the line. After Brisbin beat a defender he dispatched the keeper with a well struck left footed shot to the far post. Hale earned his fifth shutout of the year and his fourth through six league games.

Well done to the boys as they can cross another off the list of team goals they set at the beginning of the season. Also in the last four games the team has earned 21 points out of a possible 24. They head into tonight's tough Walla Walla road game seeking their sixth win in a row.

Four In A Row

On Saturday we had our most beautiful day of the spring, 60 degree weather, no wind, no rain it was lovely. We also got to see some pretty good soccer as well. In playing Moses Lake we ran into a team who plays very physical like we do so it was going to be interesting to see how we'd respond. The boys held their own, they didn't allow the Chiefs physical play to bother them and they stuck to the game plan well. The Jarad Brisbin-Jake Zoulek connection came through for the fourth game in a row as the Suns took a 1-0 lead into the half.

Southridge played well the whole game and were unlucky to not score a few more goals. Senior Captain Tanner Crass had a great game and had two beautiful shots with one saved out of the upper ninety of the goal, and the other striking the post which led to Bill Landefeld's second goal of the season. Branden Hale earned his third shut out in league and his fourth overall. He praised the defensive effort and felt most of his saves were routine as Phil Vorhies, Josh Mendoza, and Conner Cravens turned away several dangerous Moses Lake attacks.

So our team has won four games in a row, currently sit third in the table and face some important games coming up. Today we play Eastmont at 5:00 pm. We are looking for our first ever victory over the Wildcats, as well as some revenge over last years two shootout losses. After that we hit the road for games at Walla Walla on Thursday and Wenatchee on Saturday. Again this is a very important three game stretch, three victories will be tough but would put us exactly where we wanted to be when we set our goals for the season.

Richland

Last Tuesday we traveled to Richland to renew the cross river rivalry that hasn't been played in the last three years. In the past the rivalry was pretty one sided with Richland enjoying the majority of the victories. This is a new batch of Suns however, and they are looking to create their own legacy.

The game started out pretty uneventful. The boys were a little sluggish to start off and played pretty flat. It took thirty minutes for the Suns to put some dangerous runs together. Eventually Phil Vorhies sent a long ball down to the corner that Jarad Brisbin tracked down and crossed to the waiting Jake Zoulek who got a boot to it and sent the ball to the back of the net. It was a beautiful play and a wonderful finish by Zoulek. Brisbin on the other hand got some cleat marks on the ankle for his trouble, he was happy though as he collected his third assist of the season. The Bombers wouldn't be happy to go to the half with a 1-0 deficit so with two minutes left in the half their outside mid crossed the ball over two of our defenders to the waiting Richland striker who calmly chipped the ball over Branden Hale. This unfortunately ended Hales shutout streak which had just surpassed 200 minutes.

At half time the boys were made aware of their lackluster half as the coaches asked them to come out and play with more passion and a greater desire to win. For the second game in a row the boys responded with a goal in opening minutes of the second half. It was once again the Brisbin-Zoulek connection that netted the second goal. Freshmen Jake Zoulek earned his first career multi goal game and his second game winning goal in three games.

The coaches were happy with the second half play even though the game ended 2-1. We uncharacteristically missed a penalty kick, as well as a break away with just a few minutes left in the game. It was a huge win to keep the Suns at the top of the league table at 3-1,

Dominant Victory

Last Saturday Southridge took on last years 3a league and district champions Sunnyside. The Grizzlies returned two first team all conference forwards who know how to score goals in bunches. Sunnyside was coming off a 2-1 home defeat to Kamiakin and were looking to get a victory to put thier team closer to the top of the table.

Southridge couldn't have wished for a better start to the game as a Sunnyside defender handled a ball in the 18 yard box in the fourth minute. Junior Captain Jared Brisbin went to the penalty spot and converted his first league goal of the season. The rest of the first half saw our Suns miss a few golden chances in front of the goal but overall the half went really well as the team were winning all the important statistical categories. At half time the boys realized that they had a much better team and felt like they could go out and finish their opponents off. Two goals in the first minute and a half was exactly what it took to ice the game. Corey Grady's long throw to the top of the 18 yard box found Sophomore Bill Landefeld who made his first start of the year laser a shot underneath the keepers arms. On the ensuing kickoff Freshmen Jake Zoulek stole the ball from a midfielder and dished the ball to Brisbin who notched his second goal of the game. The Suns were happy to protect the 3-0 lead for the remaining 38 minutes and even rest some key starters. Sunnyside coach Juan Pineda admitted that the biggest factor in the game was the physical play of Southridge, he said "at times it was like playing a football team not a soccer team." Branden Hale made five saves and earned his second straight shutout.

Next Game is 3/31 at Richland, come root for the suns as they go for three in a row!

Eisenhower

Last night we drove up the I 82 Corridor for the second time in four days. Ike has a very good team, they are well coached and have some really good players. They came into the match 0-2 after losing in a 0-0 shootout to Hanford, and 2-0 to Kamiakin. The game was very important because from here on out all the games count for league, any team falling in a hole will find it very difficult to dig out of.

The game started out in Ike's favor. The Sun's were unable to execute the game plan and were very lucky to have Branden Hale in goal. Hale made six saves in the first half including a crucial double save that kept Ike off the board. We were fortunate to get to the half at 0-0 as we weren't playing very techincal and it was only our work ethic and physical play that kept us in the game. The second half saw our team playing a bit more organized and we started stringing some good passes together to get some decent chances at goal. Once again Hale came up big making four additional saves to tally a total of 10 for the night. With about 20 minutes left in the game Jared Brisbin decided to take the game over. First he made two runs up the middle leaving defenders in his wake, later he set up Freshmen Chandler Mertens who rifled a low shot of the keepers left post, he also did the same for Freshmen Jake Zoulek but his shot was a foot wide of the mark, and in the end with nine minutes left in the game he took Bill Landefeld's long throw down and put it at the feet of Zoulek who promptly dispatched the keeper for the game winning goal.

It was a very exciting ROAD victory that proved we can win important games at any venue. Some things to point out was our defense played very well, some mistakes were made but they were made going full speed and that is what kept Ike from capitalising. Sophomores Conner Cravens and Josh Mendoza played great and will continue to improve as we play these types of games. Once again Michael Brewer was in the right places and shut down two of Ike's more dangerous players. Congratulations to Branden Hale on his second shutout of the season. Special praises are in order to Jake Zoulek, not only did the Freshmen score his first career goal but he netted the game winner and not too many first time goal scorers can claim that.

West Valley

For the second week in a row the Suns were to play the second game of back to back tilts on the road. This time instead of a trip across the river we loaded up the "yellow limousine" and headed for Yakima. One of Southridge's biggest weaknesses over the years has been our ability to win on the road. Our biggest fear is the boys coming out flat and not ready to play. Unfortunately it happened again against the Rams. West Valley scored two goals in the opening 10 minutes and it took us another 20 minutes to start playing to our capability. Junior Captain Jared Brisbin scored his third goal of the year off an assist from Michael Brewer and it was only a few minutes later when Brewer got his own opportunity to score. The ball was served off a corner kick from Freshmen Chandler Mertens who had just entered the game as a sub. The ball was driven low and hard and Brew rose up between two defenders to smash the ball into the back of the net. The rest of the game was close with each team getting chances at the goal, but in the end it was West Valley scoring with just eight minutes left in the game.

Central Valley

Sorry I haven't updated the blog here's whats been happening. Friday the 20th we played Central Valley from the GSL. We knew this team beat Pasco the previous year in the regional championship and we knew they had some good players coming back but that was about it.

The game started off with a bang. on kickoff the ball was dropped to Tanner Crass who sent a long ball into the box that Adolfo Garcia crossed into the six yard box, unfortunately Corey Grady was a step to late and couldn't get a strike on the ball. However Grady was able to open the scoring in the 38th minute with his first goal of the year. The Suns were happy to take a 1-0 lead into the locker room and were asked to go out and finish the team off. The boy's continued to dominate the second half, playing very physical, executing the game plan. Jared Brisbin scored two goals of beautiful crosses from Adolfo Garcia and Tanner Crass. Senior Trent Mccoullough scored his first career varsity goal as Grady tacked on an assist to go with his goal. Head Coach Chip Elfering wanted to point out the stellar play of Senior leader Michael Brewer, who helped the defense earn their first shutout of the year. Branden Hale also played to his potential making five saves including a one on one breakaway 10 minutes from regulation.

Opening Weekend

On Friday we opened our Non League schedule with GSL favorite University. The game was interned to be a warm up for the Pasco game the following night and things were going really well until the yellow cards started piling up. The game was close at half time, a 1-0 deficit could have been reversed but Head Coach Chip Elfering didn't want to risk players getting two yellows and missing the Pasco game. Every bench player played in the game and the final score was 3-0. Branden Hale made seven saves and Hugo Garcia and Jared Brisbin played really well in the middle.

On Saturday we traveled across the river to take on league favorite Pasco. We knew going into the game how tough they were on paper and we needed to play extremely hard and stick to our game plan to have a chance to win the game. Unfortunately they scored in the first 35 seconds and finished with three goals in the first half. In second half the Suns come out more determined to play with purpose and we saw a better team. We were able to string some passes together, played a bit more physical, only allowed one goal, and even put the ball in the back of the net although it was called back for a handball. Once again Hugo Garcia was probably the best Suns player as he was involved in several tackles.

Around the league:

Walla Walla, West Valley, and Sunnyside picked up regulation wins with Wenatchee and Hanford winning in shootouts.

Hello Parents

I know that after tonight's parent-coaches meeting some of you are viewing this blog for the first time, so I thought I'd dedicate a post to you.

First of all I'd like to thank each and every one of you for the time, energy, and effort that you put into your children's lives and into the Southridge athletic programs. We are excited to have your sons on our teams and look forward to having a great year.

The purpose of this blog is to give some more exposure to the soccer team. Unfortunately, the Tri-City Herald doesn't devote much time to high school sports and especially to soccer. So this blog will supplement the lack of coverage that goes on and keep you informed on how the season is progressing.

*Two things you can do to be involved in the blog*:
-Give the address to your friends and families who live out of town and don't get a chance to watch very many games. They will be able to follow the season and see how the Suns are doing.
-Next you can go to Google and create a user name and password and leave comments after a posting. You can tell the boys how proud you are of them, and leave encouraging messages for others to read.

Also I will have the schedule, as well as league standings and league stats, posted throughout the year.

Once again thank you for your time and commitement to the program.

Pre Season All Conference Team

Here is the 2009 Columbia Basin Big Nine Pre Season All Conference team. Remember that this season all 13 teams are in the same conference so don't be surprised that several returning first or second teamers were left off the team.

Forwards

Marco Acevedo, Pasco
Curtis Moore, Kamiakin
Brian Galvan-Velez, Sunnyside
Paul Herrera, Pasco
Tanner Crass, Southridge

Midfield

Jared Brisbin, Southridge
Gavin Richter, Kamiakin
Andrew Clark, Pasco
Angel Valverde, Walla Walla
Eddie Mendoza, Pasco

Defense

Evan Johnson, Kamiakin
Brady Espinoza, Pasco
Antonio Ruiz, Davis
Joel Heisner, West Valley
Jesse Macias, Pasco

Goalkeepers

Joaquin Perez, Sunnyside
Brandon Hale, Southridge
Emmanuel Martinez, Pasco

Players To Watch

Julio Ibarca, Kennewick Marco Solorio, Eastmont Jesus Solios, Sunnyside Matt Smith, Hanford Jonathon Herrera, Ike Salvador Navaro, Davis Nick Wood, Richland Edgar Leon, Eastmont Kenny Short Kamiakin
Jordan Esqueda, Sunnyside Salvador Pulido, West Valley Michael Brewer, Southridge
Devin Petersen, Moses Lake Abel Bautista, Kamiakin Andres Ruiz, Davis Miguel Acevedo, Pasco
Audeil Lozano, Richland Isac Bergeson, Moses Lake John Zoulek, Southridge
Eddy Doescher, Kamiakin

Returning All Conference Selections

Here are the 2008 All Conference selections from the old CBL 3A and 4A divisions. Check back in the following weeks to see who will make the 2009 Columbia Basin Big Nine Preseason All Conference team.

First Teamers from the old 3A:

Forwards: Marco Solorio JR., Eastmont; Curtis Moore, SR., Kamiakin; Brian Galvan-Velez, SR., Sunnyside; Jesus Solis, SR., Sunnyside.
Midfield: Gavin Richter, SR., Kamiakin; Cristian Gonzalez, JR., West Valley
Defense: No first teamers returning.
GK: Joaquin Perez SR., Sunnyside

Second Teamers:

Forwards: Matt Smith, SR., Hanford;Tanner Crass, SR., Southridge.
Midfield: Jared Brisbin, JR., Southridge; Edgar Leon, SR., Eastmont; Jordan Esqueda, JR., Sunnyside; Salvador Pulido, SR., West Valley.
Defense: Evan Johnson, SR., Kamiakin

First Teamers from the old 4A:

Forwards: Marco Acevedo, SR., Pasco (League MVP)
Midfield: Devin Petersen, JR., Moses Lake
Defense: Brady Espinoza, SR., Pasco
GK: Emanuel Martinez. JR., Pasco

Second Teamers:

Forwards: Jonathan Herrera, JR., Eisenhower; Salvador Navarro, JR., Davis; Paul Herrera, SR., Pasco; Nick Wood, JR., Richland.
Midfield: Andres Ruiz, SR., Davis; Miguel Acevedo, SR., Pasco; Audiel Lozano, SR., Richland; Angel Valverde, SR., Walla Walla; Andrew Clark, SR., Pasco.
Defense: Antonio Ruiz, SR., Davis; Isac Bergeson, SR., Moses Lake

One Month To Go!

Just in case no one is counting down the days until the start of soccer season, we're down to one month. The first practice will be held March 2nd at 7:00 pm at Lampson Stadium.

Indoor soccer is still being played at the high school gym at 8:00 pm Wednesday nights. Also we will have a pre-season conditioning camp beginning February 16th. This camp will be extremely important as it will allow us almost a full month of fitness training before our first game.

Speaking of the first game, I have included the 2009 schedule. Please look at it and note that our first three games will be three of the toughest five all year. University and Central Valley are supposed to be the top two teams in the GSL. We all know how good Pasco is, any thing less than a State Championship will be a disappointment for them.

This should be more motivation to get to the pre-season conditioning camp. I can assure you that none of these schools are doing the same thing, so this could be what makes the difference between a win and a loss.

*2009 Schedule*

3/13 Friday at University 5:oo pm
3/14 Saturday at Pasco 11:00 am & 1:00 pm
3/20 Friday Central Valley 5:00 & 7:00 pm
3/21 Saturday at West Valley NL 4:00 pm
3/25 Wednesday at Eisenhower 5:00 & 7:00 pm
3/28 Saturday Sunnyside 11:00 am & 1:00pm
3/31 Tuesday at Richland 5:00 & 7:00 pm
4/4 Saturday Moses Lake 11:00 am & 1:00 pm
4/7 Tuesday Eastmont 5:00 & 7:00 pm
4/9 Thursday at Walla Walla 4:00 pm
4/11 Saturday at Wenatchee 11:00 am & 1:00 pm
4/16 Thursday Kennewick 5:00 & 7:00 pm
4/18 Saturday Hanford 11:00 am & 1:00pm
4/21 Tuesday at Kamiakin 5:00 & 7:00 pm
4/28 Tuesday at Davis 5:00 & 7:00 pm
5/2 Saturday West Valley 9:00 & 11:00 am