With just days remaining in the regular season on the South Puget Sound League North Division boys soccer pitch, one thing remains abundantly clear: It’s still anybody’s game.
“It’s still wide open,” said Kentridge coach Glenn Walrond. “Before the season, I talked with a few coaches and we all thought that six teams would be fighting for four playoff spots.”
And that’s exactly what has happened.
With two games remaining on the regular-season schedule as of Monday night, Jefferson (10-2-3 with 33 points in league) and Kentridge (9-2-3, 30) already had clinched two of those playoff berths.
Meanwhile, Auburn Riverside (8-2-4, 28), Tahoma (9-4-1, 28) and Kentlake (7-5-2, 23) also are in the mix for a playoff berth. The Ravens and Bears still have an outside shot of capturing the North Division title, but would need help.
Kentwood (6-5-3, 21 points) was eliminated from postseason contention on Saturday after working a scoreless tie with Kentlake.
Any tiebreakers from the North – and there very well could be a couple – will be played next Monday.
Kentridge, which has been one of the league’s most consistent teams, didn’t officially clinch a playoff berth until Saturday, when Kentlake tied Kentwood. Jefferson blanked Federal Way 3-0 the same night, giving the Raiders the inside track on the North Division crown.
However, it all could come down to Friday afternoon, when Jefferson plays host to Kentridge at 3:30 p.m. Kentridge needs to beat Kentlake on Tuesday to essentially force a showdown for the crown.
“It is one of their goals (to win the league title),” Walrond said. “The seniors would like to have a banner, but the big picture is just making the playoffs.”
Auburn Riverside and Tahoma still have title aspirations as well. Mathematically, there even could be a four-way tie for the top spot (if Kentridge beats Kentlake on Tuesday, then ties with Thomas Jefferson on Friday while AR and Tahoma both win out, a four-way tie would be forged).
Whatever happens, it remains clear that Kentridge might currently be playing its best soccer of the season. The Chargers posted a pair of wins last week, throttling Kent-Meridian 5-0 and doing the same to Federal Way, 7-1. Both offensive outbursts established a new season-high in goals scored.
During that two-game, 12-goal stretch five different players – Sam Piehler, Jesse Jensen, Scott Geffre, Landen Wasserstrom and Emmanuel Camarero – scored two goals apiece. Piehler, Nicolas Tobon and Sean Dunn each had a pair of assists as well.
One of the keys to Kentridge’s surge to the upper echelon of the North Division standings has been Geffre. A first-team all-leaguer last spring, Geffre has scored seven goals this season, a mark that may seem lower than anticipated.
It’s the things that don’t show up in the statistics that has made Geffre so key, Walrond said.
“Everybody thought he’d be a big scorer this year and he’s just made things run so well,” he said. “His vision has increased. Without scoring, he has created so much more.”
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