Behind a superb effort by the Bothell High defense and goalkeeper Shane Lervold, Redmond High was unable to score in a 3-0 shutout win for the Cougars at Bothell High April 13.
In both halves, the Mustangs, who were missing three starters due to injuries and academic ineligibility, came out of the gates strong and aggressive, yet lacked the punch up front to get many good shots at scoring and got stifled by the Cougar defense.
“We started out a little soft — Redmond came out and played the ball really nicely and quickly,” admitted Bothell head coach Alex Zahajko. “Then we settled in and put the clamps down. We got a couple of good breaks and we were able to finish nicely.”
RENEWED INTENSITY
The Cougars, known for their unrelenting offense led by talented club players, kept up the offensive pressure throughout the game against a struggling Mustang team (1-6-1 in league play).
The Mustang defense held its own for the most part, until a couple of defensive lapses allowed two goals in the first half, including a perfect feed from the corner off of Cougar sophomore Mauricio Aguilar to senior standout Yordan Rivera in the 38th minute.
“We do a lot of set plays during practice, passing it wide and just getting it in,” Rivera explained. “Luckily, I was there. I got the ball, faked the defender out, one touch and in.”
Defender Russell Kilgannon nailed a header in heavy traffic in the 23rd minute, off an assist from Ryan Schroeder, to open up the scoring for Bothell, and Alberto Valle put a long, left-footed shot in midway through the second half, a goal that drew admiration from Zahajko.
“They absolutely stepped up, and Brandon Rise got behind it a bunch of times and hit the bar,” said the 11th-year coach on his team’s effort. “Our offense is really clicking, and that third goal was really kind of key because we were losing the midfield.”
While the Bothell team is loaded with experience, fielding a remarkable 13 seniors, the Redmond squad is comparatively raw, with a number of freshmen taking the field that are untested in big-game situations.
“We just made too many mistakes, especially goalkeeping mistakes,” Redmond head coach Patrick Scheibe lamented. “It’s that point in time where you have to make a good choice over a bad choice, and it cost us.”
Redmond took a total of seven shots on goal in the second half, the second of which slammed into the top crossbar, with no real good looks afterward. For Bothell, senior defender Schroeder recorded two assists in the game for the Cougars. Lervold was credited with the shutout, his second on the season.
On Friday, playing at Lake Washington, the Cougars powered past the Kangaroos, 4-1. With the score tied 1-1 at halftime thanks to a goal by Devin Nakahara off Alan Villavicencio, the Cougars came out firing with three second-half goals, one each by Rise (46th minute), Kilgannon (67th minute) and Valle (74th minute) with Rivera assisting on the last two Bothell scores.
With Friday’s win, the Cougars improved to 4-2-0 in league play this season.
FULL SPEED AHEAD
Even after recording wins in four of their last five games, the Cougars know they’ll have to remain on their toes for the remainder of the season in 4A Kingco, what many call the state’s premier high-school league.
“To get a comfortable win like this and getting some players in is huge,” Zahajko said of the Redmond match. “I do like our chances if we play hard together.”
With so many upperclassmen ready and willing to take charge on a play at a moment’s notice, Zahajko’s squad looks primed and ready to not only make it to the postseason against the likes of plateau powerhouses Skyline and Issaquah, but peak down the home stretch and perhaps earn a berth to state.
“We gotta just keep winning, that’s what gets you to the top,” said Rivera. “Hopefully God helps us out and we can get that Kingco championship.”
The Cougars next play against Roosevelt (3-1-2) at 7:30 p.m. this Friday night at home.
