Rising Sun Soccer

Three Game Recap

2010-04-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

On 4/8 we played undefeated and first place Walla Walla. Not only was this a huge league game but revenge was on our minds a bit. Last year we got upset by Walla Walla in the first round of the playoffs and it's been a defeat we've had to live with all year. The Blue Devils are a very organized team with an ODP regional team keeper so you know it's going to be a tight match. 30 mph winds didn't allow us to play the type of game we wanted but it did help Senior leader Brandon Hale to get an extra 10-15 yards on his already booming punts. Brandon was so excited to get his first career assist in the previous game that he decided to do it again. He sent Jake Zoulek on a run after releasing a 75 yard punt and with WA-Hi's keeper caught in no mans land Jake calmly chipped it in for his team/league leading 10th goal of the year. That goal would stand up as the only one of the game as Hale collected his third shutout of the season and his 19th career clean sheet.

Saturday 4/10 would wrap up our four games in one week marathon with one loss Wenatchee coming to town. Unfortunately our boys showed up to play 10 minutes too late and that was enough time for Wenatchee to score two goals and hang on for the win. Once again Brandon Hale played well between the sticks and kept the match from getting out of hand. Chip pointed out that guys who came in off the bench played with heart and hustle and that made a big difference in the game. Way to go Taylor Barnes, Tyler Morgan and Pat Russell. Also senior John Zoulek continues to work hard and play great.

Last night saw our first rivalry match of the season as we took on the Kennewick Lions. Kennewick has more heart then most teams and never gives up. They also have one of the league leading goal scorers in forward Paul Martinez, first team all conference favorite midfielder Mike Chavez, a defender who is one of the most dangerous set piece takers in the league, left footed Merced Rodriguez who has scored three goals this year and a very talented goalkeeper Jared Gower. So as you can see this team is dangerous all across the field and both teams have been looking forward to this game all season. Since head coach Chip Elfering took over the program the Suns have a 4-1 record against the Lions with the only loss coming in a shoot out four years ago.

The game started off pretty uneventful as both teams were getting a feel for one another, there were some half chances for both sides until the 10th minute. Jake Zoulek recieved a through ball from Jarad Brisbin and was in on goal but two Kennewick defenders were tugging him back and Jake tried to muscle a shot through but hit it right at Gower. It's a little frustrating because a penalty kick should have been called but due to Zouleks strength he doesn't go down and doesn't get the call. Probably any other forward in the league (except our own Bill Landefeld) would have gone down with the slightest touch, got a pk and a sending off for the fouling defender. It wasn't until the 22nd minute when substitute Chandler Mertens made an immediate impact with a cross to the far post that Adolfo Garcia did well to chest trap and slot home the opening goal. That goal was the only one of the first half and the Suns knew that Kennewick would come out strong in the second half and would need to weather the storm . We felt like the first 10 minutes would be crucial, if we could repel their challenges we would be able to get some good opportunities later on and put the game away. It only took eight minutes after the restart and defender Zach Russell took off down the sideline and the Lions had no choice but to foul him in a dangerous area. This was our first real dangerous free kick we got in the game and after watching Kennewick squander a lot of first half opportunities from similar positions we wanted to make this one count. Javi Gamez took the free kick and Brisbin settled the ball at his feet, beat a defender (abused might be a better word) and dispatched the keeper for his career high ninth goal of the campaign. Gamez took his team/league leading assist total to six for the year. For the second time this year Brandon Hale got a well earned shutout stolen from him due to the referees decision to award a penalty kick to the opposition in the final two minutes of the game. Final score 2-1 Suns.

Fun facts: As mentioned before Adolfo Garcia scored his first career goal against Kennewick, last year Zach Russell got his first ever goal in the same match up. The funny connection is that both Southridge players call Kennewick goalkeeper Jared Gower their own keeper for their 3 Rivers club team. I'm sure no trash talking goes on there. Also, I told you that Brandon Hale has had two shutouts taken off the board against him due to last minute penalty kicks. Whose to blame for the fouls in the 18 yard box? Well against Sunnyside it was Brandon himself who got called for the foul, even though it was a beautiful one on one save that in no way, shape or form should have been called a foul. And last night Brandon had his little brother Keaton to thank for the penalty kick being called. Even though once again this was a phantom foul as it was right in front of our bench and we had a clear view of the play. At least in both cases the pk's didn't hurt us and Brandon will be the first to tell you that wins are the most important thing to him.

Eastmont Game

2010-04-06T22:01:00.000-07:00

Today we traveled to Eastmont to take on a team who had only won one game this year but have been playing better lately only allowing two goals in their last three games. Eastmont wasted no time once the game started and with their first shot of the game three minutes in they found the back of the net. The Southridge players were a bit stunned but came back quickly with Chandler Mertens forcing the keeper to make a nice one on one save. 30 seconds later Mertens beat the keeper but it went off the post and out of bounds. In the 23rd minute John Zoulek crossed a dangerous ball in the box but a Wildcat defender reached out his hand and gave the Suns a penalty kick. John stepped up to the mark to take the kick and leveled the game at 1-1.

Eastmont was liking their chances after holding the leagues top scoring team to one goal after all those good opportunities. It was only a few minutes after the break that Jarad Brisbin released Jake Zoulek with a through ball and Jake did well to beat the onrushing keeper. Eastmont thought that they should have won a penalty kick but the ref turned them down and Brandon Hale unleashed a line drive punt that traveled the length of the field and allowed Jake to run onto it and get his second goal of the game. This was the senior captains first career assist. The goal gave Zoulek a sophomore his fifth multi goal game of his career and he really wanted to get his first hat trick. Javi Gamez would provide the opportunity after beating two defenders he drilled a cross from the outside and Zoulek rose up and smashed it into the back of the net. Before Zoulek was subbed out of the game he beat some defenders to the by line then crossed in for Javi to hit a wide open net. Senior Taylor Barnes came on and got his second assist of the year when he set Brisbin up with a sweet strike.

We play undefeated and first place Walla Walla on Thursday at 5:00 pm

Some video for your viewing pleasure

2010-04-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

Last Three Games

2010-04-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday (3/26) we traveled to Sunnyside to take on the Grizzlies. Jake Zoulek scored the first two goals of the game and the only two of the first half. Both goals were set up by Jarad Brisbin as he tallied his first two assists of the season. Brisbin got his own two goals in the second half both off corner kicks from Javi Gamez. Chandler Mertens wrapped up the scoring off a Bill Landefeld assist. Brandond Hale made some important saves and was in line for another shutout before the referee decided to award Sunnyside a penalty kick which they converted. Final score was 5-1.

On Tuesday (3/29) we played Richland at home and it was a chippy game as both teams were fighting hard for the win. After a 0-3 start Richland had plenty of momentum going with consectuve wins against Hanford and Kamiakin. It was the Brisbin Zoulek show again as both players scored first half goals. Jarad scored another one from a Javi Gamez corner and Jake took a cross down with his chest and volleyed home a sweet strike. The cross was whipped in by Zack Russell and it was his first assist of the season. That would be all the scoring the game had as Brandon Hale got his second shutout of the season.
Final score was 2-0

Saturday April 3rd saw our first road trip to Moses Lake in six years and the players learned that this is a tough place to get a result. The boys looked a bit lethargic to start the first half and it took us too long to get in the game. The longer it took us to assert ourselves the better it was for Moses Lake and they ended up taking advantage of our slow start and staked themselves to a 2-0 lead. John Zoulek pulled a goal back with his third of the year and we assaulted the goal in the second half but could never find the equaliser. This was our second loss of the year and puts us in a tough position where we pretty much have to win the rest of our games and get help from other teams if we want a shot at playing for the district title.
Final score was a 2-1 loss.

Season Update

2010-03-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a fast and furious start to the season and I apologize for this being the first post of the year. I will recap the first four games.

For the third year in a row we opened up our season with non league play against GSL foe University. This has traditionally been a one sided contest so we were happy to take a 1-0 lead into halftime from Sophomore Chandler Mertens first career varsity goal. In the second half the victory was sealed by first year player Javier Gamez. "Javi" burst onto the scene with a 30 yard left footed strike that found the upper corner. Brandon Hale earned his 17th career shutout for the suns and that makes him the all time career leader in that category.

The next day we played the defending league, district and regional champion Pasco. The game was a bit nervy and both teams had a few opportunities in the first half but after 40 minutes had been played it was a 0-0 game. Jarad Brisbin who played his first game of the year pounced on a Jake Zoulek rebound off the cross bar and made the score 1-0. It took ten minutes more for Brisbin to score his second this time off a set piece delivered by Keaton Hale. Pasco fought back and scored two goals. The game didn't end without controversy though. Pasco's first goal should have been called back after a player made contact and interfered with goalkeeper Brandon Hale. Then with three minutes remaining John Zoulek scored the game winner only to have it called back by the head referee.

The game was to be decided in a shootout and unfortunately the Suns came up on the losing end.

Our next game was against another GSL team in Central Valley who are supposed to be one of the top teams in Spokane. Jarad Brisbin opened the scoring in the 19th minute on another assist by Keaton Hale. The lead only lasted for five minutes when CV found the equaliser and the game went into the half 1-1. It only took six minutes before last years team leader in goals scored, sophomore Jake Zoulek found the back of the net for the first time this year. Another highlight of the game was Senior John Zoulek scored his first goal since his freshmen year. The last two years have been injury plagued for John but he never gave up his desire to play for Southridge and when Keaton Hale blasted a low free kick from 40 yards out John got a boot on the ball to cause a deflection that sent the keeper the wrong way. Brisbin wrapped up the scoring with his fourth goal in two games.

The following day Southridge traveled to Pasco to take on Chiawana and this game was interesting as it was the first match up of these two schools and also a match up of the two newest high schools in the area. The game got off to a fast start with four goals scored in the first 14 minutes. The good news was three of them were for Southridge as Jake Zoulek scored twice and Chandler Mertens scored once. John Zoulek wrapped up the first half scoring in the 40th minute and the Suns took a 4-1 lead into the break. Bill Landefeld scored his first goal of the year in the second half and Junior defender Conner Cravens scored his first career varsity goal. You could tell it was his first goal since his freshmen JV days by the celebration that ensued.

So to wrap it up the Suns are 3-1 to start the season and from here on out all the games count. We play at Sunnyside this Saturday and look forward to a tough match with the Grizzlies. This game has become a bit of a rivalry game with Sunnyside leading the all time series three wins to Southridge's two.

Here are the team leaders and where they stand in the league stats.
Jarad Brisbin, four goals 1st in the league.
Jake Zoulek, three goals tied for 2nd in the league.
John Zoulek, Chandler Mertens two goals each and tied for 3rd in the league.
Keaton Hale, four assists 1st in the league.
Bill Landefeld, three assists tied for 2nd in the league.
Jake Zoulek, two assists tied for 3rd in the league.
Brandon Hale has played 330 minutes in goal, posted one shutout and saved 26 times while conceding 5 goals.

2010 Season is officially here!

2010-03-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

Practice starts tonight at 7:00 pm. We will practice Monday - Thursday from 7:00-9:00 and practice Friday will be from 3:00 to 5:00 at SHS. Make sure you have all your paperwork turned into the office and physicals have been performed. Remember if you miss one practice you are ineligible for the first game, miss two practices and you miss the two games. Please don't miss practice for any reasons!

See you tonight.

Semi Finalist

2010-03-01T16:04:00.000-08:00

Southridge will have five players represented at the US Youth Soccer Washington State Championships. The U16 Three Rivers United won their quarter final game 1-0 and will take on Crossfire in the semi finals next Saturday.

Jarad Brisbin's U18 Snohomish United won 4-0 and will play in a Saturday semi final as well.

Good luck guys!

On To The Quarterfinals!

2010-02-08T15:34:00.000-08:00

As expected Jarad Brisbin's Snohomish United went 3-0 in the group stage to win the group and book a spot in the state quarterfinals. United scored eight goals and didn't concede any. Next up for the senior captain is a 2/28 date with HPFC Heat who also went 3-0 in group play. Jarad's team did play HPFC in a tight match during the regular season, with Snohomish coming out of the road game with a 1-0 win.

Now on to the unexpected, good and bad. The Three Rivers United U16 team entered into a very tough group and managed a 1-1 road draw and an upset 1-0 home win. On Sunday the sophomore aged team found themselves in a pressure packed situation. With a win the group was theirs which also included a bye into the quarterfinals, a draw and they would advance to the knockout round, a loss and their season was most likely over. Jake Zoulek scored a goal to get his team the lead and it proved important as the match was tightly contested, there were goal scoring opportunities for both teams. In the final two minutes with United trying to conserve the victory Zoulek grabbed his second goal of the game to close out the match. United won 2-0 and finished unbeaten in their group with two wins and one draw. They scored four goals and only conceded one. Jake Zoulek scored three of the four goals. They will also play on 2/28 in a home quarterfinal match up with their opponent TBD.

Finally our U17 Celtic team was dealt a shock as they were in a three team bracket with teams they had beat 1-0 and 4-0 in regular season play, they were heavily favored to advance out of group play. After losing a 2-1 game to ECFC, they needed to beat a Crossfire "b" team. In an uncharacteristically high scoring game United lost 6-5 to end their season. The Southridge players were upset with some errors that were made in the game and dismayed at the call that led to a penalty kick that was scored against them which eventually decided the match.

So for five Southridge players the state cup dream lives on and for the other four they will start working hard to get themselves ready for the high school season that begins in three weeks.

Updates on State Cup

2010-02-01T09:35:00.001-08:00

First of all I have to make a correction to my last post, I Should have known better than to trust WSYSA website without confirming the results. Jarad Brisbin's Snohomish United played their first game on Saturday against BFC and won 3-0. They also played Sun City yesterday and won 1-0. So they have pretty much locked up advancement to the knockout round and are playing Emerald City next week and will try to win their group.

The U17 Celtic team lost a close game to Emerald City 2-1. I spoke with the assistant coach of Emerald City (former Southridge and SU player Cam Mertens) and he told me the referee made two game changing decisions that both benefited Emerald City. The first was on a goal scored by an Emerald City player who was clearly in an offside position, but the goal was allowed. The second decision came when Celtic scored a goal off a loose ball in front of the keeper. The ref disallowed the goal because it was deemed that the keeper had possession at one point. So it was a tough result for Celtic although in the Tri-Cities we have become accustomed to not having a home field advantage in the refereeing department. Next up is a trip to the west side to play Crossfire. A win or possibly even a draw will be enough to see Celtic go through in this three team bracket.

The best result of the weekend had to be the U16 united team winning against PDL first divsion runner up Columbia Timbers. After stealing a result on the road last weekend United was faced with their toughest state cup challenge yet and were able to poke a ball home off a corner kick and hold on for a 1-0 win. The victory put united in the drivers seat where a win next weekend will give them first place in the group and an automatic berth to the quarter finals. A draw should be enough to get them into the knockout round, but a loss will bring the tiebreaker scenarios into play. They wrap up group play next week at Harbor FC.

State Cup Play

2010-01-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

For 11 Southridge soccer players the club season is almost wrapped up and the only thing left before high school ball is the US Youth Soccer Washington State Championship Cup.

It got under way last weekend with the U16 United team which has sophomores Jake Zoulek, Chandler Mertens, Brandon T. and freshmen Conner Mertens all playing for them.

United got a tough opening round game with State League champs SCFC Fury. This is a team United struggled with all season and lost to them three times. On Saturday however United were able to come up with a result after a 1-1 tie. Jake Zoulek scored the lone goal and although Fury equalised a few minutes later getting an opening round draw and earning some points on the road was a great accomplishment. United play a tough Columbia Timbers team at home on Sunday and will be happy to earn another draw against a tough opponent.

Senior Jarad Brisbin and his Snohomish United team also opened their play last weekend and faced their first hiccup of the season. After winning the state league by going 10-0, Snohomish drew BFC 0-0. Again, the important thing in the group stages of a tournament is to get a result in your first game and Snohomish has done that. They play John Zouleks Sun City team this Sunday in Yakima. Zoulek however has decided to not play state cup in an effort to be fit for the high school season.

The U17 Celtic team that has Bill Landefeld, Josh Mendoza, Conner Cravens and Zach Russell open their state cup play with old foes Emerald City at home on Saturday. These two teams know each other well as they have both earned promotions each of the last three years and both played at the states highest level this year. In their only match up of the regular season Celtic won 1-0. Look for the winner of this game to win the group stage and book a spot in the quarterfinals.

I will update the blog after the weekend games, Good luck 3 Rivers and Southridge players!

Conditioning Camp

2010-01-20T10:17:00.000-08:00

Our conditioning camp will start February 2nd at Lampson Stadium and will run from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. The camp will run the entire month of February and will be on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

The goal of the camp is to get as close to match fitness as possible so we don't have to spend the first two weeks of practice running.

Only five more weeks until the first day of practice!

Jarad Brisbin Makes College Choice.

2009-12-30T15:07:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-24T13:49:00.000-08:00

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

2009-09-25T15:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-10T15:31:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-31T14:03:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-26T15:05:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-26T14:46:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

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

2009-02-09T14:05:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-02T13:41:00.000-08:00

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

Pre Season

2008-12-10T15:10:00.000-08:00

I know that football just got over and basketball is under way but it's already time to start thinking about soccer. Right now there is after school weight training and conditioning going on, check with Captains Tanner Crass, Phil Vorheis, Jared Brisbin, or Brandon Hale to find out dates and times.

The first indoor open gym will be January 7th at 8:30 Pm at the high school.

Starting February 16th at 3:30 we will have a conditioning training camp at Lampson Stadium. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will be at Lampson. Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00-4:30 conditioning will be held at the high school.

This is an opportunity for our team to be match fit for our first game and allow us to focus on training during the first two weeks of practice rather than conditioning.

It should be every players goal to start this season at the same fitness level as the end of last season.

4th Place

2008-04-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

It's hard to imagine that this time last week we were in 1st place, but that's the way things go in this league. Last night's 1-0 loss to Sunnyside was a real heart breaker. It was probably the best game we'd played all year we just couldn't sneak one in the back of the net. The boy's never gave up though. Hopefully the most important thing we learned last night is how to play with intensity. During the last 24 minutes of the game we played so hard, we played with purpose, intent, and a desire to win that we'd never seen from them before. Hopefully everyone understands that this is how you need to play for 80 minutes every game. If we did this we would score often and nobody could stop us.

Our next game is Saturday against West Valley and it will be the seniors last athletic event for the blue and gold. We appreciate the effort they've put in over the years and we hope that a lot of family and Friends will be in attendance to honor them.

Tough Way To Lose

2008-04-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

Shootouts. Everybody hates them nobody loves them. From a coaching standpoint we love our teams chances in a shootout. We have a great keeper who reads the shooter well. We also have about seven or eight guys who are very reliable shooters. The reason we don't like them is because any thing can happen, a keeper can just dive one way and guess right, a shooter can mishit the ball and not go where he wanted.

We played extremely well for 90 minutes and had a wonderful attempt blocked by their goalie. When you look at the way our defense played, and the way we moved the ball around this was definitely one of the best games we've played this year. Some highlights of the game included Brandon Hale making seven saves and earning his fifth shutout of the year. Jared Brisbin also man marked one of the best players in the league, he has now man marked top players three times this year and not only kept them from scoring or assisting any goals but also shut down the teams offensive attacks. Freshmen Josh Mendoza played his first career varsity game. He started and played really well, most importantly he earned his teammates respect.

The game against Sunnyside will be a great test tomorrow. They are playing their best soccer of the season so far and we still have a chance to win the league with a victory over them.

Saturday's Game Time

2008-04-16T10:52:00.001-07:00

The game against Eastmont on Saturday will be played at 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm with the JV playing the early time as usual. Our next opponent Sunnyside will be playing Kamiakin at 11:00 am so it would be a good idea to come watch this game as both teams are tied for second one game back from us.

We would also like to take a moment and stress the importance of the Eastmont game, we need to win this game and maintain possession of first place so we will be positioned favorably in the playoff seeding.

Now The Good News

2008-04-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

Kamiakin and Eastmont played on Saturday. Our reason for rooting against Kamiakin had nothing to do with the crosstown rivalry but with the fact that a Kamaikin loss would put us back in first place. Not only did kamiakin lose but it was the best case scenario, a 0-0 tie that Eastmont won in a shootout. So Eastmont only got two points for the win and Kamiakin got one. So here we are with four games left and we're at the top of the league table, Eastmont, Kamiakin, and Sunnyside are all one game back tied for second place. So the question is are we going to step up and take what's been put in front of us or are we going to squander another chance to win this league?

We've been saying it all year, this next game is huge. We've experienced what it's like to be in this position and win, as well as lose. It feels much better to win and control your own destiny. So hopefully we'll come out and train hard this week and put all of our energy into winning this game.

Practice Note: There will be no practice on Monday the 14th, we will resume on Tuesday and go from 5:00 - 7:00 pm

Tough Loss

2008-04-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday's loss to Kamiakin was a tough one to swallow. It was such a huge game, and the stakes were very high. The winner of the game had a fast track to the league championship and the loser would have to battle the rest of the season for playoff seating.

The thing our boy's need to understand is that every team we beat in the first half is going to come at us harder than ever to prove that it was a fluke we beat them the first time around. kamiakin came into that game with something to prove, they came into that game like it was for the league title. We came into that game like we do every other game, we came to win, but we didn't match their intensity. I think a valuable lesson was learned in that game. We have four games left, nothing else matters, not being in first or second place, not how we started the season, not that we've broken the team records for wins in a season or shutouts in a season. The only thing that matters is these next four games and where we finish in the league table.

Tale Of Two Halves

2008-04-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

In our first game against Hanford the defense allowed zero shots on goal. In the rematch last night they had nine, in the first half, three of which hit the crossbar. It seemed we couldn't do anything right except get lucky and watch Brandon Hale make six wonderful saves. At halftime a simple question was asked "do you want to be in first place or not?' The boys responded well, showing that yes indeed they do want to stay on top of the league table. We controlled the ball for most of the second half and had some wonderful chances including Corey Grady's potential game winner that was cleared off the line. Hale made five additional saves and played his best game of the season. Coach Elfering said "for the first time this season Brandon took control of the box and really owned it." Also Jared Brisbin once again drew the daunting task of man marking the best player in the league Dino Ramic. The sophomore proved he was the man for the job limiting Ramic to two shots on goal and limited his play making ability.

In the shootout Brandon was reading the shots right, but they were all on target until he blocked the seventh shot he saw. That set up John Zoulek, who only played five minutes due to an injury to come in cold and bury the game winner.

The game was important to maintain sole ownership of first place and set up another huge game against rival Kamiakin tomorrow at 7:00 pm. It will be important to have as many fans as possible at this game. We have the chance to sweep our rival and be clear of the other teams by two games.

Around the league: West Valley won their first match of the year against Sunnyside that dropped the Grizzlies two games out of first.

JV Note: The Junior Varsity squad improved to 5-2 in league with a 7-0 win over Hanford. They dominated every aspect of the game which was highlighted by Zack Patten's hat trick and Connor Craven's two goals.
JV's two league losses were both 0-0 matches that went to shootouts.
In the last three games they've outscored opponents 12-1.
For the season they've outscored opponents 21-10 and are 5-4 overall.

Complete Turnaround

2008-04-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

Well for those of you who don't remember at this point last year we were 1-5 and hadn't scored a goal yet in the season. So as you can imagine it feels really good to be 5-1 and in first place at the half way point. Saturday we played another scrappy game and were rewarded with a 2-0 victory over Kennewick. Jared Brisbin and Corey Grady each scored their first goals of the season. Riese Byrd assisted both times and Brandon Hale earned his 3rd shutout of the year.

We're real proud of the way the boys have stepped up and are taking ownership of the season. There have been many times this season when it would have been easy to fold under the pressure and make excuses and so far we haven't seen that.

The way the next two games play out will really tell us what we're made of. On Tuesday we play at Hanford who is in second place one game behind us. If we don't win this game there will be another three way tie for first place. Then we play Kamiakin on Thursday who is also in second place one game back. We're still in a place that we can set our own destiny. We need to take every game one at a time and unfortunately we can't take a breath and enjoy where we're at, everything is still too close. So keep playing hard and beat Hanford tomorrow.

Game Note: The Hanford game times have been changed to 5:00 pm for JV and 7:00 pm for varsity to be played at Hanford's new soccer field on the East end of the schools property.

Dominating Performance

2008-04-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we witnessed the best road game the Suns have played in a long time. Riese Byrd and Bill Landefled both scored their second goals of the year and Michael Brewer ripped a 40 yard shot into the upper seven to win the game 3-1. One of the best things we saw were some moments of wonderful passing and we also played stingy defense. The game was so important because we earned a much needed six points and it set us up to finish the first half of league play with a 5-1 record. However, this can only be accomplished with a victory over cross town rival Kennewick this Saturday. Kennewick is a difficult team to play due to their all out defensive tactics. They have played several different players so far this season so again it's hard to gauge them as a team. The good thing is we are now playing a brand of soccer that if we play our game, and play to our strengths the outcome should be in our favor.

The boys have done a good job of staying focused and taking one game at a time. We have to keep in mind that so far the only thing we've done is played well up to the half way point. We still have to play our best soccer moving forward so we can make a run in the playoffs. Let's focus on these next three day's of training and play a great game on Saturday.

JV Note: The Junior Varsity squad also improved their league record to 4-1 with a 5-1 trouncing over West Valley.

Way To Bounce Back

2008-03-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the Suns won an extremely important game against Sunnyside. Going into the game there was a three way tie for first place between the Suns, Sunnyside, and Kamiakin. The winner of the game would stay at the top of the table and the loser could drop all the way to fifth place. The good thing was our boy's new this and rather than folding under the pressure they prevailed in a scrappy hard fought game against a very worthy opponent.

Coach Elfering unconventionally decided to go into the wind in the first half and the strategy payed off as the defense stifled all of Sunnyside's attacks to go to the half 0-0. In fact Southridge Forward Riese Byrd had the best chance five minutes into the game he beat the keeper but unluckily hit the crossbar. The game wasn't pretty by any means, Sunnyside had a wonderful attack all game long as they passed the ball from defense to midfield but every time our defense was in the right position and turned away every attack. Brandon Hale made four saves including a first half clearance of a dangerous cross that had a Sunnyside attacker waiting to finish. The shining moment in the game was when Corey Grady's pass made it's way to Ryan Downs who had to beat one defender than ripped a 20 yard shot passed keeper Joaquin Perez. The goal came with three minutes left in the game and was Ryan's first career varsity goal.

It should be noted that last year if a goal was scored in the closing minutes of a game it was unfortunately against us. This is a good sign of the maturation of this team, and the ability to close a game out.

Our next challenge is Tuesday. In our two seasons with this program and probably going back much further this team has never performed well on the road. In fact in most cases the results have been very disheartening. In West Valley you have a team that has yet to win a league game but has been improving each week. There are no easy games in this league. We have to go up there and prove that we can win on the road. Coach Elfering has pointed out that "if you have any aspirations of making a run in the playoffs you will have to win some road games." Let's get one Tuesday.

JV Note: The Junior Varsity squad beat Sunnyside 2-1 and improved to 3-1 in the league and 3-3 overall.

Poor Showing

2008-03-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

For the second year in a row we traveled to Eastmont and played our worst soccer of the year. The boys were not mentally prepared for the game, after winning the first two league games they thought that if they just showed up Eastmont would give us the win. In this league you have to show up to play your best game of the season every week. Six of the seven teams in the league are within one game of each other. Yes, it's early in the season but don't expect much to change by the end of the year. The most frustrating thing about Wednesdays game wasn't that we lost, we know we won't win every game. It was that the boy's didn't play our game, they didn't do what we've been telling them all season. Eastmont is a good team but we feel that we're better, and if we play our style then we can beat them.

As coaches we are constantly thinking of ways to make our team better, when we implement a change of tactics or personnel on the field it's always to make the team better. We need the players to buy into our system and play hard every practice and every game. We need the boys to take it upon themselves to be more coachable and willing to do what is asked of them.

We have another huge game tomorrow against Sunnyside and hopefully the boys will be ready to redeem themselves.

Important Week

2008-03-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't noticed the league is going to be close all year. We have a very important week coming up for us. On Wednesday we play at Eastmont for our first road trip of the year. Eastmont has the returning CBL MVP Javier Tovar and they have struggled so far this year. They only lost one league match last year and are already 1-2 in league. We have to capitalize on our momentum and steal a win. The easiest way to do that will be to put a lot of shots on goal. Eastmonts goal keeper is frequently caught out of position and doesn't have great footwork. This is where we can win the game. The seasons has gone well so far but we need to continue to win games so we can clear ourselves of the congestion in the League Table. When there are so many teams within a game of each other one loss can send you sliding down the table, this is why it's so important for us to win. On Saturday we play Sunnyside at home, this game will be huge but we can't even think about it until after the Eastmont game Wednesday. The same is true for them, they have an obstacle in their way with their Kamiakin game tomorrow. So let's just take things one game at a time and continue to improve our situation.

It's Been A Long Time Coming

2008-03-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Southridge finally recorded the programs first win over Kamiakin. Everyone is so proud of the boys. It was a typical Kamiakin Southridge game with nine yellow cards, one red card, and officiating leaning towards the Brave’s side. But our boys overcame it all to dominate the shootout 3-1 with Brandon Hale blocking three of the four kicks he saw. The scoring got started in the 38th minute with Reise Byrd’s first goal of the season. Phil Vorheis sent a long cross from the back line and with a defender in close pursuit Reise ripped a shot past the on rushing keeper. The Sun’s were elated with the 1-0 half time lead but didn’t come out of the half ready to close the game out. Corey Grady had the best chance after beating three Kamiakin defenders he placed a beautiful shot in the upper seven but it hit the crossbar and went out of bounds. Kamiakin then scored in the 57th minute off a goal that was only let in due to confusion between keeper and defense. Head Coach Chip Elfering was extremely pleased with his players but noted two things, “we have to start closing teams out, and we can’t rest on our previous two wins we need to keep pressing forward.” Once again Brandon Hale played well with nine saves giving him 24 for the season. One player that has been playing well all year and deserves some recognition is Jared Weatherly. He keeps coming up in the coaches post game discussions, and we are real proud of the way he has played thus far. After winning three games in a row our overall record is 3-1.

JV Note: The Junior Varsity squad also prevailed in a shootout for their first ever victory over Kamiakin. Franky Leon scored the regulation goal and leads the team with three goals this season. Record 2-2

Off To A Great Start

2008-03-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

Southridge played their first league game of the year on Saturday, against a rival team that the Suns lost two close games against last year. Hanford has league MVP candidate Dino Ramic who is a dangerous playmaking midfielder. The daunting task of shutting him down was placed on Sophomore Jared Brisbin’s wide shoulders. Jared played him so tough that he was yellow carded 25 minutes into the game. No matter though with Jared’s man marking and the stellar defense played by Jesse Keen, Nick Johnson, and Phil Vorheis neither Ramic nor any other Hanford player even managed a shot on goal. Goalkeeper Brandon Hale was quoted saying “It was the easiest shutout of my life” Freshmen Bill Landefeld got his first career goal in the 57th minute off an assist from Reice Byrd. Reice played well pressuring the opposing defense all day and not committing any fouls. It’s only one game but it sure is nice to see Southridge on top of the league standings. Make sure all families and friends are in attendance for this Wednesday’s “away” game vs. Kamiakin at Lampson Stadium. The suns have never beaten Kamiakin in soccer and this just maybe our year.

JV note: The Junior Varsity Squad earned their first win of the year with a 3-1 victory.

Congratulations

2008-03-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Brandon Hale, a sophomore goalkeeper for the suns has been named Souhtridge High School Athlete Of The Week. Brandon posted his first career varsity win against Mt Spokane on Saturday. During a two game stretch last weekend he made 15 saves against three goals. The Suns will rely heavily on Brandon this season as they hope to make a deep playoff run.

Come support the team this Saturday at 11:00 am against rival Hanford.

Season Starts Well

2008-03-10T14:38:00.001-07:00

Our First game of the year was against GSL favorite University. They came out with a barrage of shots and despite Brandon Hale's two saves in the first five minutes University struck home in the 12th minute. The game was fought hard and told us what we really need to work on this week, but in the end University's precision passing and work ethic prevailed in a 2-0 loss for the Suns. Defenders Nick Johnson and Jesse Keen played extremely well. Brandon Hale finished with eight saves.

The following day we played Mt Spokane, this game was sure to tell us how mentally tough we were after losing 16 hours earlier. Southridge came out focused and moved the ball around much better, made a more concentrated effort to win the 50-50 balls and scored in the 41st minute. John Elliot Zoulek took a nice pass from Tanner Crass and beat the goalkeeper for the blue and gold's first goal of the season. Once again Brandon Hale played really well in goal but was unable to stop a blasted shot off a corner kick that tied the game at 1-1. That is where the score was at the end of regulation, and on to sudden death overtime the game went.
Head Coach Chip Elfering asked one thing of his players "show me how much heart you have and show me how much you want to win this game". Well show him they did. Two minutes into the first overtime Corey Grady sent a long throw in to John Elliot Zoulek which he promptly passed to Casper Bertheau who had to beat the keeper twice after his first shot bounced off the post and deflected back to him. Final score Southridge over Mt. Spokane 2-1.

We need to practice hard this week in preparation for our first league match against Hanford. Hanford drew a 1-1 tie with Richland in their only game so far this season.

Lewis & Clark Game Cancelled

2008-03-04T14:35:00.000-08:00

This Saturday’s game with Lewis & Clark has been cancelled. Instead we will be playing at home against Mt. Spokane. They do not have a JV team so we have invited Pasco’s C team to come play.

JV game vs. Pasco at 11:00 am, Varsity game vs. Mt Spokane at 1:00 pm

Getting Close To Game Time

2008-03-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

Well the first week of practice was here and is gone. The teams have been announced and we’re just four days away from our first game. The varsity team looks good, they are working well together and the work ethic has been much better this year. Hopefully this week we will get 100% healthy, and continue to work together. University will be a tough challenge on Friday and should provide a good measuring stick as to where we stand this early in the season. Lewis and Clark the following day will also be a good match, we lost 1-0 to them last year on a goal in the final two minutes of the game. I think we will be in for another close one but I predict the game will be decided much earlier than that.

A Junior Varsity note: We had 27 people on the roster and are now down to 23, which means playing time will be at a premium. I wanted to remind everyone that there is no equal playing time in High School Soccer. Your playing time is decided by three components, Skill level, work ethic, and attitude. Not just one component will earn you playing time; you will need at least two. My best advice is to work so hard that the coaches have to find a spot for you.

Jo-Jo

2008-02-27T13:54:00.003-08:00

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Jo-Jo. We were delighted to have him come and play this season and were sadden by the news of his premature death. Chip and I spent a half hour after practice with him Monday evening and told him he would be playing on the Junior Varsity squad this season. He was so excited for the opportunity to play and be a part of the team. He was most excited about getting to wear the Southridge uniform and representing his school. I only got to watch Jo-Jo that first day of practice and I can tell you that he was a hard worker, loyal, dedicated, outgoing, friendly and most importantly he was a very good person. We can learn so many lessons in life by looking at the type of person he was. If everybody has just a few of the many endearing traits that Jo-Jo possessed we will all be better people. We’ll miss you Jo-Jo.

Jovan Jo-Jo Conn 1987-2008

Final Pre Season Update

2008-02-25T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hanford finished 5th in the conference with a 4-8 league record (5-10 overall) and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Kamiakin. They posted impressive victories on the road against West Valley and Sunnyside. I think you will remember their other two victories coming against us, in the first league match of the year they scored with two minutes left to win 1-0. Then beat us with two goals in the added time to win 2-1. It doesn’t need to be said that with those two close games and Head Coach Kyle Verick being a former Southridge coach that this is a good rivalry game. In my opinion Hanford has the leagues best player in Dino Romnic he should make a strong run at mvp. Hanford also returns their goalkeeper who was a rookie last year and will have much needed experience this season. Throw in a few solid retuning starters in the midfield and defense this Hanford team is a lock to make the playoffs. They will go as far as Dino will take them; it will be interesting to see what position he may play as he can play forward, inside or outside mid, and he is probably the best defender on the team.

Kennewick went 3-9 (4-11 overall) securing the last playoff seed, and lost in the first round to Eastmont 3-2. They return a sophomore keeper who saw lots of action last season, and have several kids coming back who saw significant playing time. This team played defensive minded all season long and just like Southridge played in 11 one goal games. Expect them to be tough on defense again this season, and look for them to compete for a playoff spot again this year. We beat them in a shootout the first time and they returned the favor in the last game of the season. This was also an intense rivalry game and will be important for us to win in order to make a our playoff run.

Opponent Update

2008-02-21T11:23:00.000-08:00

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.

One Week Until Practice

2008-02-17T14:13:00.000-08:00

There is only one week left until practice starts, I hope you guys are getting in shape and getting prepared for the physical conditioning that will be waiting for you. As coaches we felt that our biggest downfall at the beginning of last season was the team not being fit to run for 80-90 minutes. That will not be the case this year. This is my way of warning everyone to use this last week and start to get into shape.

We start the season playing two non-conference games against the GSL 4A division, then all the games count for us to make a deep run into the playoffs. This week I will be reminding you of our conference opponents records last year and who they have coming back.

Eastmont was the league Champions posting an 11-1 league record, (13-2 overall). They lost to Sunnyside in the District Championship. They will be returning the MVP of the league who is as dangerous setting up teammates as he is scoring. Eastmont will have a target on their back all season and will have to deal with every team giving them thier best shot. I think last year they flew under the radar the first half of the season and won't be able to do that again, but I predict they will finish near the top of the table again.

Kamiakin finished second in the league with an 8-4 league record (12-5 overall) and lost to East Valley in the second round of districts. They also may have the toughest player to replace in midfielder Jacob Ellig. He was a real playmaker whose opponents always had to be aware of his location on the pitch. They will be in good hands with a core of returning starters including two goalkeepers who split time last year. Coach Borak may have trouble finding adaquete playing time to keep both players happy. Kamiakin won the Big Nine title in 2006 and were runners up last year, so you can count on them to battle for the League Championship once again.

Check back later for updates on Sunnyside and West Valley.

Countdown to Soccer season 2008

2008-02-13T22:36:00.000-08:00

Two more weeks until the new season begins and practices are in full swing. All practices will be held at Lampson Stadium and we have the 7-9 p.m. slot the first week. Parents meeting on the 25th at 5:30 p.m. at Southridge High School. We will be conditioning hard the first week of practice, so start running now. It looks like we will have more student athletes turning out than we've had in the last several years, so hopes will be high to finish near the top of the league. I will be keeping you up to date on our season as well as other area teams.