From the Sidelines

With a little lull between seasons we’ve had time to relax and get ready for basketball and wrestling.

I saw a few minutes of both boys and girls basketball practice at VHS yesterday. The girls were just finishing and looked tired but happy. The boys came out and got right to work. They look like they are ready now to defend their state title tomorrow, but I’m sure coach Andy Sears has lots of preparation planned.

Didn’t get to wrestling practice but saw saw a few very tired wrestlers heading out.

Joining the girls basketball team this year is exchange student Elisa Wendt from Freiburg, Germany. Vashon must have made a good impression on the Wendt family because Elisa’s brother also was an exchange student here. Elisa’s host dad just happens to be coach Henry Porter.

Exchange student Elisa Wendt and assistant coach Gary Means chat after girls basketball practice.

We’re off to Colorado to meet our new grandson next week. Mom played rugby, Dad played and coaches football and Grandpa favors running and soccer, so the kid will have a choice, along with kayaking and all the other outdoor stuff that is big there.

The regular calendar says we have five and a half weeks until it is officially winter, but the sports calendar says winter begins this week.

The fall Pirate teams are done and signups for basketball and wrestling are this week.

Pirate football lost to Nooksack Valley yesterday in a play-in game to State, ending the fall sports season. The Pirates made their mark in the Nisqually League with football and girls soccer making it to the final game before being eliminated. Volleyball, in a rebuilding year, was in the running for the playoffs right up to the final league game. Boys tennis sent a few players through to the spring session.

And cross country sent two runners to State, where both Savannah Krug and Tylor Heit acquitted themselves well.

I just saw the line score for yesterday’s football game. While the final score looks lopsided, take away the third quarter and the Pirates were one point better than the Pioneers.

Basketball and wrestling practice starts Monday. First wrestling meet is Dec. 1, first home match is Dec. 16.

Both basketball teams have jamborees Nov. 28. The girls host my alma mater, West Seattle, Dec. 3. Boys first home game is Dec. 9.

McMurray girls soccer and boys basketball have been practicing for competition starting next week. Check the school Web site for schedules.

One more goal on Saturday and the Vashon girls might have been playing in the State soccer playoffs.

The Pirates fought back from a two-goal deficit with a Teal Sigler corner kick in the 69th minute, but Seattle Christian held on for the 2-1 win, ending the Pirates’ season in the Tri-District playoff game at Kings High School.

During the regular season the Warriors had twice beaten the Pirates by three-goal margins and the two teams were playing for the sixth and final seed to State. Vashon had won two playoff games in shootouts and before this game the Warrior coaches said they didn’t want to get into a shootout.

Seattle Christian got a goal from Jordan Fremmerlid in the 13th minute, with the assist going to Terrika Weaver. Weaver scored unassisted in the 56th minute.

Vashon came back and had numerous chances but couldn’t finish until Sigler sent a corner kick high to the near post. The Warrior goalkeeper got her hands on the ball but couldn’t hang on and the Pirates were within one goal.

Sigler, Cat Amick and Lena deGuzman all pounded shots in the final 10 minutes but the Warriors held. Katie Chale led the Pirate defense in a valiant effort, holding Weaver, the Warriors top scorer to only one goal.

While the Pirates’ season is over the Warriors open the State Tournament with a game at Kings on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Cat Amick beats Seattle Christian defender Kimberly Howard to unload a shot on goal in Saturday's game.

Thunder and lightning and driving rain couldn’t stop the Vashon Pirate girls soccer team tonight, but the Overlake Owls could.

Overlake defeated Vashon 4-0 in a rain-soaked game at Kings HS that started almost an hour late and was suspended for a half hour while thunder storms passed through.

Rules require the pitch to be cleared for thirty minutes following lightning, so when a storm struck while the teams were warming up the kickoff was delayed, resulting in the 5 p.m. game starting just before 6 p.m.

Courtney Gateman, coach Paul Beytebiere and Katie Chale share a light moment while waiting for the lightning to pass.

Shortly after Allison Risa scored the Owls’ first goal more lightning forced a half hour suspension about midway in the first half.

Risa scored three times in the second half, and the Owls advanced to State.

Vashon gets another chance to advance to State at 1 p.m. tomorrow when they play Seattle Christian.The SC/Bush game was just starting, an hour later than scheduled, as the Vashon bus left the field. Bush won 4-1.

Tomorrow’s game is also at Kings. The loser is eliminated and the winner gets the sixth seed to State. First round State games are next Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 10 and 11.

Lots to see today and tomorrow. Tylor Heit and Savannah Krug, along with coaches Kevin Ross and Laura Johnson are on their way to Pasco for tomorrow’s State Cross Country meet.

Pirate football is in State by virtue of a coin toss but plays the winner of Orting/Port Townsend tomorrow in a mini-playoff – six-minute quarters – for second or third seeding. The action is at Franklin Pierce in Tacoma.

Anna Jones harasses a Meridian player Wednesday.

Girls soccer can grab the fifth seed to State with a win today over Overlake. The loser gets a chance for the sixth and final seed tomorrow, playing the loser of Seattle Christian/Bush. Vashon/Overlake is 5 p.m. at Kings HS in North Seattle. SC/Bush is 7 p.m. at Kings. Winner is fourth seed.

The Pirates want to get it done today and rest tomorrow. The Pirate fans have been the loudest and biggest contingent at the recent road playoff games and have been a big boost to the Pirate girls.

Alex Wall moves the ball upfield in the Meridian game Wednesday.

Teal Sigler, right, beats the Meridian goalkeeper for the Pirates third goal Wednesday.

Three playoff games, three wins, and the Vashon girls are one win away from the State Tournament. Vashon traveled all the way to Mount Vernon tonight to beat Meridian 4-0. Teal Sigler and Carlyle Scott scored off corner kicks in the fifth and seventh minutes. Sigler scored on a breakaway in the 75th minute then fed the ball to Cat Amick for a 79th minute goal.

The Pirates play Overlake, 1-0 winners over Charles Wright tonight, on Friday at Kings High School in North Seattle. The winner of that game qualifies for State and plays again Saturday for fourth or fifth seed to State. The loser plays on Saturday for sixth seed to State.

Meridian and Charles Wright were eliminated from the playoffs in tonight’s games.

As of noon on Monday the games on Wednesday Nov. 4:

Football; Vashon v Cascade Christian @ Franklin Pierce HS, 7:15 p.m.

Girls soccer: Vashon v Meridian at Mount Vernon HS, 7 p.m.

Vashon Island should be deserted that evening.

Congratulations to Savannah Krug and Tylor Heit. The two Pirate harriers ran five kilometers in the mud and rain on American Lake Golf Course on Saturday and made it all the way to Pasco.

The occasion was the Westside Classic Cross Country Meet, the qualifier for the State Meet next Saturday, Nov. 7, on Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

Savannah Krug kicks for the finish in 11th place.

Krug and Heit both followed the same basic strategy, surge for the lead pack at the start and don’t back off.

Krug was 12th crossing the 2,500 meter mark and moved up to 11th before the finish.

Heit passed 2,500 in 15th and stayed there to the finish.

Tylor Heit, 699, approaches the midway point of the race in 15th place.

The final score in the Vashon - Cedar Park Christian football game last Friday.

The Pirates took care of business last Friday, defeating Cedar Park Christian 59-6. Now comes the biggest game in recent Vashon football history.

On Wednesday the Pirates, 5-1 in Nisqually League, take on the Cougars of Cascade Christian, 6-0. The winner is the number one seed to State playoffs. If Vashon wins Cascade is number two. If the Cougars win the Pirates will likely be tied for second with Orting and Port Townsend, necessitating a mini-playoff for second and third seeds.

Quinn Holert reaches for the goal line on the way to one of his four touchdowns.

The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium in Sumner, the Cougars’ usual home field, but could be moved to another stadium due to scheduling conflicts the final week of the regular season.

Games with playoff implications are often moved up to allow time for tie-breaker mini-playoffs before the full playoffs begin.

On Friday the Pirates got off to a slow start against the sixth-place Eagles. Vashon finally got a field goal from Nick Fox-Edele as the first quarter ended, then the flood gates opened.

Quinn Holert got four touchdowns, Nathan Betz had two and third-string quarterback Dan Lofland ran for two TDs in the fourth quarter. Fox-Edele kicked all eight extra points.

Pirate fans have a choice on Wednesday: follow the girls soccer team to their Tri-District playoff game or follow the football team to Cascade Christian. Check the VHS Web site for the locations of the games.

Nick Fox-Edele, 4, was perfect on Friday, kicking a field goal and eight extra points. Kyle York is the holder.

Olivia Andrus, 21, tangles with a Charles Wright player.

WARNING: People with a pre-existing heart condition or stress issues should consult a health care professional before watching Vashon Pirate girls soccer playoff games.

The Pirates have played two playoff games and won both 2-1 via the shootout.

On Saturday the Pirates went to neutral Orting Stadium to meet the Charles Wright Tarriers for the third time this season, the second time this week. The Tarriers won the first 4-2 in overtime. The Pirates won the second 4-0 on senior night, with the Tarriers missing some of their starters to the flu.

Saturday’s game was not only for bragging rights, very important in this intense rivalry, but for seeding to the Tri-District Tournament.

The Tarriers drew first blood when Valerie Rutan  beat Pirate keeper Sophie Nespor in the 10th minute.

Teal Sigler, a premier teammate of Tarrier keeper Natalie Powell, beat Powell after taking a feed from Carlyle Scott, making the score 1-1 at the end of the first half.

The tie held through the second half, thanks to Nespor’s save of a Tarrier penalty kick, and through two 5-minute sudden-death overtime periods, sending the game to the shootout.

In the shootout both teams converted their first three kicks. Vashon made kick number four while the Tarrier kicker missed.

Powell saved the Pirates’ fifth kick, leaving Vashon a 4-3 lead and Charles Wright with one more chance. The kick was on frame toward the top to Nespor’s right.

Nespor made a leap, getting both hands on the ball and knocking it away from the goal and the Pirates had won their second consecutive shootout.

Vashon the number three seed to Tri-District, plays the District 1 number two seed Wednesday at a District 1 site. The opponent has not been posted as of this writing.

Charles Wright plays Overlake at a District 2 site. If both Pirates and Tarriers win Wednesday, they meet again on Friday with the winner getting a state berth and the loser having to win on Saturday for the last state slot.

Wednesday’s games are loser out.

Vashon's starting defensive line kept Charles Wright frustrated for most of the game. From left, in green, are Anna Jones, Brooke Pringle, Kaija Reinelt and Katie Chale.