Kangs prepare for trip east in pursuit of first state win | Prep soccer
Published 2:07 pm Monday, May 16, 2011
There was no denying it on Saturday that Lake Washington was hungry for a win. The Kangs, coming off an upset win over Mercer Island, had their chance to get to their first state tournament in years, if they could just get past Ingraham. The opponent didn’t slow them down one bit. Lake Washington won 6-1 against for the fifth and final seed into the state tournament.
“The boys were extremely excited,” said head coach Shaun Warner. “The whole goal was to get to state and now that we’re here, I want them to be the first team to win at state.”
The Kangs program, which has never won a game at the state tournament, hasn’t been to state in at least eight years. The win over Ingraham put the team into the first round of the state tournament. Lake Washington will travel to Kennewick for a Tuesday game against Southridge.
“Saturday went really well,” said Warner. “The guys came out excited. We wanted to make sure we controlled possession and they did a phenomenal job. They really capitalized on the set pieces.”
Merlin Granados had a pair of goals during the game, both assisted by Adam Krebs. Jordan Cox added to the list, as did Jared Curlanis, Jared Echart and Joel Navas. Ingraham’s Noah Makela scored the team’s only goal in the 78 minute of the game.
Warner said ahead of Tuesday’s game, that they’ve learned what they could about Southridge, without having actually watched them play.
“I learned, through reading the paper over there, they have a pretty fast forward, so we’ll be watching him. We have to play smart and not allow break aways. They are good on set plays so we’ll have to be matched up and I’d like us to move the ball fast,” said Warner.
Warner said the team was leaving for Kennewick early Tuesday morning, but that he wasn’t worried about the long travel time before the game.
“I’m not too concerned,” he said. “I have a lot of veteran guys and we’re leaving early enough that we’ll be able to get there and check out the field and relax before the game.”
The game begins at 6 p.m. at Lampson Stadium. The winner of the game moves on to play Saturday against the winner of the Eastmont vs. Pasco game, which also takes place Tuesday.
