A Gentleman Never Surrenders by Lauren Smith

“Just great teamwork to get it in there in the first place, and I was just at the right place at the right time,” he said of the three goals. Thompson scored the first off a rebound on a blocked shot, and sent the final two past the goalkeeper from about 10 yards out. Thompson - Vashon Island’s scoring leader this spring - added a hat trick in the second half, scoring in the 42nd, 59th and 64th minutes to put the lead out of reach. Moments after the first goal, Marceau-Roache tapped in a second goal on a long cross to give the Pirates a 2-0 advantage heading into the break. “Once we moved the extra attacker up, we just started putting the ball in the back of the net, and that was the difference,” Vashon Island coach Scott Nicolino said. That was the first of three goals for the Pirates - who sent a midfielder forward during the half to create more pressure - in a five-minute stretch of game time. Junior Ellis Cudaback then knocked the rebound into the back of the net to give Vashon Island the decisive 1-0 advantage. In the 37th minute, Pirates sophomore Rowan Marceau-Roache dribbled past a Vikings defender on the left side, and sent in a shot that deflected off Bellevue Christian’s goalkeeper. “We really just had to be patient about it,” freshman forward Lewis Thompson said.

The Pirates (16-2) controlled possession most of the way, and sent several shots into the box throughout the contest, but it wasn’t until the closing minutes of the first half that they finally broke a scoreless tie to take a lead they never lost. Two days after posting an 8-1 win over league rival Cascade Christian in the district semifinals, Vashon Island shut out Bellevue Christian, 5-0, in another impressive performance in the title game at Lincoln Bowl. The Pirates, who haven’t lost a game since March and completed an undefeated run through Class 1A Nisqually League play last week, added a 1A West Central District championship Thursday night in Tacoma with another convincing victory.

Vashon Island High School boys soccer will carry their winning streak into the state playoffs.

A Gentleman Never Surrenders by Lauren Smith