The Mount Si boys’ soccer team is teetering on the brink of postseason elimination after two tough losses last week.
Vini Oliveira and Jose Luis Bonilla were very dangerous for Sammamish last Tuesday against the Wildcats. The same pair, who gave Mount Si fits earlier this season, led the Totems to a 4-1 win.
Last Friday the Wildcats’ played very hard against the Liberty Patriots but the breaks for the most part did not go Mount Si’s way.
Wildcat fans better get used to the names Dakota McKay and Jesse Sorteberg. McKay, a freshman, scored twice. Sorteberg, a sophomore, scored once and assisted on one of the McKay goals as the Patriots won 3-2.
“They [Liberty] got two good breakaways on us and we paid the price,” said Mount Si coach Darren Brown.
McKay put Liberty on the board first. He took a Sorteberg pass in the 32nd minute, broke away and fired a shot past Wildcat goalie Cody Tipton into the back of the net. Mount Si tied the game on a goal by Gibson Bardsley, who took a pass from teammate Dane Portscheller and took it home in the 49th minute. Not long after, in the 51st minute, Liberty retook the lead. McKay again scored and put the Patriots in front to stay.
In the 61st minute, Sorteberg scored to give Liberty cushion, and they needed it. In the 72nd minute, Gibson Bardsley missed a penalty kick attempt just right of the net. Immediately following that play, in the 74th minute, Portscheller scored and cut the deficit to 3-2, Patriots. Mount Si kept firing away until the last whistle, to no avail.
“I thought it was a great effort on both sides. It was physical, a real tough, physical battle, but both teams played hard,” said Liberty coach Darren Tremblay, whose team moved into fourth place in league with the victory.
The top four teams advance to the postseason.
Wildcat midfielder Chad Hennig was pleased with the team’s effort. “I think we played really good. We played with a lot of heart and just did it for Alex [Crabtree] and its unfortunate we lost. But I thought we played great as a team and we should’ve got that win,” Hennig said.
Mount Si has played all their games this season in memory of Alex Crabtree, who played for the Wildcats last season. He passed away during the offseason.
Both teams suffered injuries to key players. Mount Si defender Marshall Lloyd suffered a knee injury in the 69th minute.
“He came up to me two minutes after being on the sidelines, came out and said ‘I’m ready to go,’ so he’s tough,” Brown said.
The news for Liberty is nowhere near as good. Senior defender Scott Moore suffered what may be a serious leg injury and could be out for the rest of the season. “It’s a possible fracture. He can’t put any weight on it; his toes are numb, he can’t lift his foot, so it’s not looking good,” said Tremblay. Moore suffered his injury in the 59th minute of play after colliding with a Wildcat player in front of the Mount Si bench.
Mount Si hosts Issaquah Thursday. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Mount Si needs to win to say in the hunt for the final playoff spot in Kingco 3A.
