Unlike the aftermath of most knockout losses in prep state tournaments, smiles, hugs and laughter permeated the atmosphere on the artificial turf as friends and family gathered to celebrate the Sequim boys soccer team.
Despite allowing a golden goal two minutes into the second overtime period to fall to Burlington-Edison 4-3 in the Class 2A state quarterfinals at Sedro-Woolley High School on May 19, the Wolves were really just happy to have had the opportunity to lace up their cleats once more with their teammates.
That the team had that moment — and the game at all — was highly improbable.
Sequim found itself back in the state tournament last Friday morning despite losing 7-1 to Toppenish on May 15, in the opening round of the state tournament.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, which oversees high school sports in the state, discovered that the Wildcats had used an ineligible player, an overage 20-year old, in last Tuesday’s match.
Suddenly, the Wolves (14-6-2) were in the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history.
“The worst part of going out against Toppenish wasn’t that we lost, but that we wouldn’t be able to play together anymore,” Sequim’s all-time leading scorer Liam Harris said.
The team found out Friday morning, practiced that afternoon and headed east Saturday with one more chance.
Sequim allowed an early goal in the sixth minute to Tiger Junior Maturana, but the Wolves pushed forward on a free kick in the 31st minute and Burlington-Edison was unable to clear the ball and conceded an own goal.
The Wolves took a 2-1 lead just after halftime on a similar play. Hayuk Minano eventually pounced on the second or third scoring chance during a scrum inside the goal box and poked the ball in the net.
Burlington-Edison tied it up on a goal that barely crossed the goal line after AJ Wilson headed the ball in off a corner kick from J.J. Gomez — Sequim defenders quickly cleared the ball and the Wolves moved play forward but the strike counted and the game was level at 2-2.
The Tigers took a 3-2 lead on the goal of the game, a twisting, turning free kick from 49 yards out by Cameron Orestad.
But Harris, who injured his hamstring against Toppenish, came on in reserve with 15 minutes to play and quickly made his mark.
Harris unleashed a long ball from midfield into the goal box that was saved by an on-rushing Burlington-Edison goalkeeper. The goalkeeper knocked Sequim’s Ryan Tolberd to the ground in the interim — drawing a Sequim penalty kick.
Minano took the penalty — and nailed it low and right for a tie game in the 70th minute.
Sequim didn’t get much going offensively in the overtime periods, and the Tigers pounced on an opportunity to win in walk-off fashion. Burlington-Edison’s Edgar Robles got his head on a corner kick by Oscar Ibarra with two minutes left in the second overtime for the game-winner.
“They (Sequim) played very well,” Burlington-Edison coach Jay Powers told the Skagit Valley Herald. “They are a very good team.”
The loss stung the Wolves, sure, but the opportunity for this high-performing, record-breaking team to play together again was the real takeaway.
“After the (Toppenish) game everybody was upset that we wouldn’t have another practice with each other,” Harris said.
“And somebody just now said we got one more practice and one more game.
“That was the dream.”
Falling to Toppenish
The Wolves looked out of energy in the state-opening defeat at Toppenish on May 15 — their fifth game in 10 days — said Sequim coach Dave Brasher.
“We gave it our best (but) we kind of completely ran out of gas,” he said. The game was actually close, he noted, through the 60-minute mark.
Toppenish, playing on their grass field under 90-degree temperatures, opened the scoring in the third minute, the Wildcats’ first trek downfield.
“We’ve handled that before,” Brasher said about the early deficit.
Toppenish made it 2-0 on what Brasher called a “fluky” play in which a ball deflected off of Sequim defender Mathew Craig’s head to his hand, resulting in a penalty kick. Toppenish converted it for a two-score lead at 24 minutes.
It stayed that way through halftime and until the 52nd minute, when Sequim’s Liam Harris got a free kick and knocked it in on a curving shot into an upper corner, halving the Wildcat lead to 2-1.
“We kind of took it to them,” Brasher said. “It was a game.”
The proverbial back-breaker, the Sequim coach noted, was at about 60 minutes when, after a “good build-up” senior Wildcat midfielder Cristobal Cervantes ripped a left-footed shot for a score that gave Toppenish an insurance goal.
A break-away score moments later put the game out of reach.
“We kind of went for it (and) left only a couple of guys back,” Brasher said, leading to more Toppenish scores.
Harris left the game with a hamstring injury with about 15 minutes left, while defender Brandon Benson and forward Hayuk Minano were also hurt.
“We were kind of stretched physically,” Brasher said.
The Sequim coach expressed some frustration about the game, after seeing his team play three days prior and having to make a five-hour-plus bus ride. The team didn’t find out about the game location and time until Monday morning.
“The WIAA needs to change (games scheduled for teams who) travel over fours hours; (they) should not play that game on Tuesday,” he said.
Several other state 2A tourney opening round games were played on Wednesday.
“It was a great 27-hour trip; the only bad part was the 90 minutes on the field,” he said.
“Despite all that,” Brasher said a day after the defeat, “it was an awesome season.”
One that wasn’t over just yet.
By the numbers
The Wolves set a number of school records this spring.
Sequim has four players (Harris, Minano, Ryan Tolberd, Mike McAleer) with at least 10 goals.
Harris set the school record for career goals in a campaign, netting his 41st against Port Angeles on April 24 to snap Kai Antrim’s mark of 40 (2005-2008). Harris finished with 44 career goals after his tally against Toppenish.
Tolberd scored a hat trick against Orting in the opening round of the West Central District tourney against Orting for scores 17, 18 and 19, to break Casey Nagler’s single-season scoring record of 18 goals set in 2005. Tolberd, a sophomore, finished the spring with 21 goals to set the school standard (he now has 27 in two prep seasons).
Minano broke the single-season assist mark of set by Vann Brasher in 2004; Minano got the school record with his 14th assist on May 8, a 3-2 district tourney loss to Highline. He added a 15th in a 2-1 win over Kingston two days later.
Sequim racked up 79 goals in 22 games — both school records.
“These kids were awesome,” Brasher said.
By virtue of the Toppenish forfeit, the Wolves also pick up their first state tourney win. Sequim has appeared in three other state tournaments but was knocked out each time: once in a shootout (2004) and twice by 1-0 counts (2009, 2010) against Bellingham.
The Wolves’ 14 wins is tied for second all-time (2003, 2014). The 2004 Sequim High squad set the school benchmark with a 16-win season.
