5/20/2024
The Eli Sports Network will be covering all 4 boys Spring State Soccer Tournaments with the 4A and 3A tournaments covered on this blog. If you want to follow the 2A and 1A they are on a separate blog post linked here. We divided the coverage by the final 4 location. The 4A and 3A will play the final 4, semi-finals, 3rd place game and Championship at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup on Friday and Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, May 24 and 25.
Below is our coverage of the Final 4’s for each tournament with early round coverage below our Final 4 reports.
4A State Boys Soccer Final 4
Semifinals, Friday May 24
Game 13: #6 Sunnyside vs #10 Mount Si 11:45am Pre-game, 12pm Kick-Off
Game 14: #4 Camas vs #1 Pasco 2pm Pre-game, 2:15pm Kick-Off
3rd Place Game, Saturday May 25
Game 15: TBD vs TBD 9:45am Pre-game, 10am Kick-Off
State Championship
Game 16: TBD vs TBD 3:45pm Pre-game, 4pm Kick-Off
3A State Boys Soccer Final 4
Semifinals, Friday May 24
Game 17: #6 Lake Washington vs #15 Ballard 4:15pm Pre-game, 4:30pm Kick-Off
Game 18: #13 Garfield vs #17 Auburn-Mountainview 6:45pm Pre-game, 7pm Kick-Off
3rd Place Game, Saturday May 25
Game 19: TBD vs TBD 12pm Pre-game, 12:15pm Kick-Off
State Championship
Game 20: TBD vs TBD 6:15pm Pre-game, 6:30pm Kick-Off
4A State Boys Soccer Tournament Early Rounds
Quarterfinals
May 18
Game 10: Mount Si 3, Redmond 0
Game 11: Camas 1, Chiawana 0 More coverage check out the story by Kevin Klein in The Columbian
Game 12: Pasco 3, Issaquah 0
Game 9: Sunnyside 3, Sumner 0 (ESN Game)
(Sumner, WA) The #6 Sunnyside Grizzlies got up early on Saturday to make the 3 hour drive from sunny Central Washington to the cloudy side of the state to face #3 Sumner for a shot at getting to the final 4 of the 4A Tournament. The Grizzles were there with plenty of time to spare and were able to shake off the travel fatigue.
Sumner was looking to get back to the final 4 for just the 2nd time in school history after finishing 3rd in 2018. The Spartans were carrying the torch for the SPSL as the last one standing.
The match began and clearly Sunnyside held the possession advantage but Sumner’s defense time and again denied the Grizzlies. The Spartans did build several deep attacks into Sunnyside territory but were also turned away.
Sunnyside would strike in the 34th when Kevin Hernandez took possession and fired a laser into the upper goal just under the crossbar and just out of reach of Sumner keeper Kyle Goodrow. The game would go to the break with Sunnyside leading 1-0.
In the 2nd half Sumner came out firing trying to get the equalizer but Sunnyside keeper Sebastian Hernandez was a wall with big help from defenders Edwin Puga, Sebastian Magana and Cesar Frausto. Then in the 55th minute Lionel Hernandez took a pass from Daniel Farias and knocked in the insurance goal.
Sumner was scrambling and had to take chances leaving them vulnerable at times and the Grizzlies took advantage overwheling the Sumner box in the 71st minute and off a missed shot Damon Landaverde headed it in to ice the win.
Our Thorbeckes MVP went to Daniel Farias for his overall effort and assist on the 2nd goal. Kevin Hernandez got out NW Hometeam Takin’ it to the House Play of the game with his monster shot to score the 1st and winning goal of the match.
Sumner had their season come to an end and finished 16-6 while Sunnyside is now 16-3 and heads to the final 4 on Friday at Puyallup’s Sparks Stadium where they will face #10 Mount Si in the Semi-Finals at 12-noon.
Link to watch the full game on the NFHS Network (Subscription required)
ESN talks with Sunnyside’s Kevin Hernandez
ESN Postgame Show
Video Highlights
Sunnyside scores 1st
Grizzlies add Insurance
Sunnyside ices it
Photo Gallery
Opening Round
Game 4: Redmond 2, Bellarmine 0
Game 6: Camas 3, Mount Rainier 2 More on this game check out Tim Martinez’s story in the Columbian.
Game 8: Pasco 1, Tahoma 0
Game 1: Sunnyside 2, Skyline 1
Game 5: Chiawana 4, Curtis 1
Game 7: Issaquah 2, Davis 1 More on this story in the Yakima Herald-Republic
Games on ESN
Game 3: Mount Si 3, Puyallup 1
There won’t be a repeat Champion in the 4A boys soccer classification and in fact there will be a complete turnover in the final 4 as the top 4 from 2023 were all eliminated over the past 2 days. Sunnyside eliminated defending Champs Skyline, Issaquah booted Davis, Pasco knocked out Tahoma and Mt Si eliminated 2nd place Puyallup last night on the Vikings home field.
The Wildcats survived Puyallup’s initial attack where the Vikings traditionally can get off to a fast start with direct attacks immediately after kick-off. Puyallup pressed but were denied by a strong defensive backline and keeper Logan Aiken.
Mt Si would counter in just the 6th minute set up on a corner kick when Cade Heyting took a pass from Zach Ramsey and booted it in for a 1-0 lead. The Wildcats scored again in the 28th in a mad scramble in front of the box off another corner and this time Parker Calendar had a great header which was deflec ted into the net by Zach Ellis and the Cats held a 2-0 lead at the Half.
Puyallup would get back in the game on a free kick from just outside the box when Roby Hooper fired a laser into the upper left of the goal for a perfect shot that was simply undefensible. This gave the Vikings life trailing by just 1, 2-1.
The Vikings would mount several more attacks but Mt Si eventually flipped the field again in the final 10 minutes and were aggressive not trying to sit out a 1 goal lead. This turned into a great chance when Ramsey took the ball down the left side of the field and perfectly fed Heyting again who did not miss icing the game in the 74th.
Our Thorbeckes MVP went to Zach Ramsey and our NW Hometeam Takin’ it to the House Play of the game was Heyting’s 2nd goal to close out the match. Mt Si improves to 14-4 and will play at Redmond on Saturday in the quarterfinals with a trip to the final 4 on the line.
Puyallup had their season come to an end finishing the year 13-5-1. For more on this match check out the ESN’s crew post game show followed by video highlights and a photo gallery.
ESN talks with Game MVP Mt Si’s Zach Ramsey
ESN Postgame show
Video Highlights
Mt Si Strikes 1st
Wildcats go up 2-0
Puyallup keeps hope alive
Mt Si ices it
Photo Gallery
Game 2: Sumner 2, Lake Stevens 1 (OT)
Sumner controlled play for the majority of the first half. With plenty of chances on their attacking half, Sumner struggled to break the stellar Lake Stevens defense anchored by keeper Brayden Zakimi. It wasn’t until the 25th minute Sumner saw a breakthrough.
After a long throw-in from Ty Brunner, Juan Vega beamed a drive that clanked off the crossbar, but Johnny on the spot Casen Fiorito cashed in with a header that found the back of the net, and Sumner led 1-0. Sumner continued to press, but Brayden Zakimi stayed steady in goal to keep Lake Stevens down by only one goal.
The physicality ramped up in the second half, which included plenty of bookings. Three yellow cards and a red card to Lake Stevens’ George Meadows Morrice in the 55th minute changed the complexion of the match. Unfortunately for Lake Stevens, a team that had only scored one goal in their last three games would have to rally a man down.
In stoppage time, Lake Stevens threw all they had offensively on Sumner keeper Kyle Goodrow, and it seemed as if it might be too late, until off a Lake Stevens corner, a Sumner foul in the penalty area gave Lake Stevens the life they needed. A penalty kick with the season hanging in the balance. Lake Stevens the previous week had beaten Wesco regular season champion Glacier Peak to advance to state. And the Vikings from up North chose Lucas Mooring with the season on the line. Mooring chose to drive the shot towards the left side, Goodrow chose right, and Lake Stevens had tied the game to force sudden death overtime.
One goal to decide who will advance to state. 23 seconds into the overtime period, Sumner’s Elijah Hamlin was tackled in the penalty area, the officials awarded a penalty kick for Sumner. Sam Neeley stepped up with a chance to send Sumner to the quarters, and he buried his penalty top shelf right corner, and Sumner escaped with a wild victory.
Our BHG Play of the Game was Fiorito’s header and our Game MVP was Sam Neeley.
With the win, Sumner moves on to face sixth seeded Sunnyside at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium Saturday at 1pm.
ESN Postgame Show
Video Highlights:
Fiorito’s header puts Sumner in front
Mooring PK ties it at the gun
Neeley OT GWG PK
3A State Boys Soccer Tournament Early Rounds
Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 18
Game 13: Lake Washington 2, Lincoln (Sea) 1
Game 14: Ballard 2, Edmonds-Woodway 0
Game 15: Garfield 2, Seattle Prep 1
Game 16: Auburn-Mountainview 3, Bainbridge 2
Play-in Round
Tuesday, May 14
Game 1: Arlington 1, Ridgeline 0
Game 2: Ballard 2, Stadium 1
Game 3: Garfield 3, Hermiston 0
Game 4: Auburn-Mountainview 5, Spanaway Lake 2
Opening Round
Friday, May 17
Game 5: Lake Washington 2, Gig Harbor 1
Game 6: Lincoln 3, Arlington 1
Game 7: Edmonds-Woodway 6, Mead 2
Game 8: Ballard 2, Central Kitsap 0
Game 9: Seattle Prep 1, Bellevue 0 (7-6 PK)
Game 10: Garfield 2, Silas 1
Game 11: Bainbridge 3, Mount Vernon 2
Game 12: Auburn-Mountainview 3, Shorewood 2
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