Eagles boys soccer team earns shutout against Wildcats

Issaquah captures ninth win on soccer pitch.

By Shaun Scott • April 15, 2018 7:38 pm
Photo courtesy of Don Borin/Stop Action Photography Issaquah Eagles midfielder Dawson Oen, left, controls the ball while being defended by Mount Si midfielder Jared Davies, right, in a matchup between KingCo 4A soccer teams on April 13.
Photo courtesy of Don Borin/Stop Action Photography Issaquah Eagles midfielder Dawson Oen, left, controls the ball while being defended by Mount Si midfielder Jared Davies, right, in a matchup between KingCo 4A soccer teams on April 13.

For the second time during the 2018 season the Issaquah Eagles boys soccer team captured a victory against the Mount Si Wildcats.

Issaquah registered a 2-0 victory against Mount Si during inclement weather conditions consisting of rain and wind on April 13 at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie. The Eagles improved their overall record to 9-1 with the win while Mount Si dropped to 3-4-2.

Issaquah defender Grant Williams scored on a header off of a corner-kick in the 17th minute, giving his team a 1-0 lead. The Eagles added an insurance goal just three minutes into the second half when Gavin Herman connected on a goal in the 43rd minute, extending their lead to 2-0. Issaquah had the wind at their backs in the first half and Mount Si had the wind at their backs in the second half.

“I thought that would really help us,” Mount Si head coach Darren Brown said of his team’s advantage in the final 40 minutes of regulation. “We wanted to play those through balls, get forward and have some opportunities and looks. We just didn’t execute. They just outplayed us. That is why they are at the top of the league. We didn’t finish buts it’s okay. We got a lot of season left.”

Mount Si’s best opportunity to score occurred in the 60th minute. Issaquah goalie Gage Nardi came out of the box to pursue a loose ball. After a few seconds, Mount Si regained possession and Alec Bothwell unleashed a solid shot on goal but Nardi was able to recover and leap high into the air for the save. Issaquah head coach Kyle Tatro was impressed with his goalie’s performance between the posts.

“He was aggressive, he was composed and he was everywhere we needed him to be tonight,” Tatro said of Nardi.

The Eagles have won their past two games after suffering their first loss of the 2018 season to the Skyline Spartans on April 6. Tatro believes the loss against Skyline could had been a blessing in disguise.

“It lifted the pressure off of our backs of trying to maintain that perfect season. They were eager to back out and prove they were better than that result (loss to Skyline) showed,” Tatro said.