Under the extreme duress of frigid early March practice sessions, the Interlake Saints boys soccer team discussed goals for the upcoming season.
The Saints, who advanced to the Class 3A quarterfinals in 2014, were determined to advance to the “Final Four” on the soccer pitch in 2015.
With the opportunity of attaining their early season aspirations staring them right in the face, the Saints punched their ticket to the Class 3A state semifinals courtesy of a convincing 2-0 win against the Kennedy Lancers in the Class 3A quarterfinals on May 23 at Interlake High School in Bellevue. Isaac Reed scored a goal off of an assist from Austin Ball for the Saints in the first half, giving his team a 1-0 lead. Jose Castillo helped put the game away for good with 20 minutes left in regulation. Castillo’s shot on a free kick from 25 yards out caromed off the cross-bar directly to Saints junior Ivan Castillo. Ivan took advantage of the fact that Kennedy’s keeper David Ritscher had dove to the right side on Jose’s shot and was still on the ground. Ivan calmly squared up and unleashed an easy shot into the goal from 10 yards out, giving Interlake a 2-0 lead.
Interlake head coach Dan Peterson was glad to see his team execute with the pressure of a berth in the state semifinals on the line.
“We always talk about being there for rebounds and Ivan was right there on the spot for the rebound and knocked it in to give us a little bit of breathing room,” Peterson said.
Jose said he noticed Kennedy’s defense wasn’t ready when he unleashed the shot on goal on the free kick in the 60th minute.
“We saw they weren’t set up defensively so we took advantage of that. The goalie was off to the far left, so I just went for it. Luckily we got the goal,” Jose said.
Peterson is excited about his team’s chances in the state semifinals and possibly the state championship game.
“The goal at the beginning of the season is to play on the last day of the season. Now we are guaranteed to play the last day of the season. Now we have to go get a win Friday (semifinals) now,” he said. “I’m so proud of these guys. I couldn’t be prouder. It is just terrific.”
Jose was glad to see a large contingent of the Interlake High School student body in attendance for the game. The boisterous crowd typically isn’t the norm for high school soccer games.
“These past years our school hasn’t been that successful in sports and soccer is one of the sports where not too many fans come out for the games. Seeing all of these fans come out here for state is a big change. It really helped us a lot,” Jose said. “It means a lot to us. Our team has a lot of heart and we hate losing. That is what drives us.”
Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045;sscott@bellevuereporter.com
