Highline men’s soccer tied Skagit Valley in a friendly and beat Pierce, punching their ticket to the NWAC playoffs. 

Highline needed the win against Pierce in order to clinch one of the four playoff spots in the west division.

Last Wednesday, Highline hosted a friendly against 9-3-3 Skagit Valley from the north division. The box score was 1-1.

A friendly soccer match is when two teams play against each other purely for practice. The game outcome has no impact on the team’s league standing and conference record. 

The friendly match was a long and physical game with 15 total fouls.  

We started off slow, with not that many chances, and got an unlucky early goal against us in the first half, said Midfielder Fabian Ornelas.

“We played really well after about 25 to 30 minutes into the game. It had a high intensity to it, and it was good for us to get a game like that before the end of the regular season,” said Highline Head Coach Steve Mohn.

“We didn’t get a goal until the second half, leveling the game 1-1. I ended up getting a red card late into the second half making it hard for us to get the three points, so we had to settle for one,” said Ornelas.

On Saturday, the Thunderbirds battled it out in Puyallup against Pierce and beat them 1-0.

Highline had to deal with an exhausted roster going into the game.

“We have a couple injuries on the team that affect our mid, luckily there aren’t too many. Not having a full roster can throw your team off balance seeing as you won’t have enough subs in case of an injury or in case a player gets tired,” said Ornelas.

“We have had different players in and out of the lineup for various reasons over the course of the season. I think the team has reacted well to that adversity and still performed well,” said Coach Mohn.

The Thunderbirds had 22 total shots and eight total from the opposing Raiders. Highline midfielder Zane May made the sole goal for the T-Birds with an assist from teammate Josh Job.

“[Pierce’s] goalkeeper had a great game only allowing one goal to Zane May and made 11 saves. I think we have done a great job earning a playoff spot and setting ourselves up to meet our goal of winning the division,” said Mohn.

The game didn’t go as planned, only beating them 1-0, but a win is a win, said Ornelas. The team is currently focused on coming in first in the division, Ornelas continued.

“We’re honestly all pretty excited and ready to get into our postseason. It’s sad that our regular season is coming to an end so fast,” said Ornelas.

“This last week of the regular season is very important. If we win both games, we come in first place in the west division. It gives us a chance to compete in two playoff atmosphere games again. Both South Puget Sound and Clark are fighting to make the playoffs, so we will get their best performances,” said Mohn.

The men’s soccer team travels away for their last two games of the regular season.

On Wednesday, Highline headed to Lacey to play against South Puget Sound at 4:15 p.m. with results unavailable at press time. 

On Saturday, the team travels to Vancouver, WA to challenge Clark at 2:15 p.m.