Highline men’s soccer pummeled Southwest Oregon 4-0 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals round.
Last Saturday, the No.1 seeded Thunderbirds played at home in the Starfire field.
Akshay Rabadia/THUNDERWORD
Prior to the match, SW Oregon sat in second for the South Region and held a league record of 7-3-2. Highline sat in first for the West Region and held a league record of 9-4-2.
The T-Birds came out fiery in the first half where they netted all four of their goals.
In the 13th minute, Highline’s Lomeri Torujo netted the first goal assisted by Ryo Takeuchi. Four minutes later, fancy footwork from Zane May led to another goal with an assist from Cory Burbridge.
In the 30th minute, Highline striked again with a goal by Ryo Takeuchi assisted by Diego Madrigal, furthering the scoring gap 3-0.
Just 11 minutes later, Highline’s Shoo Shee scored the fourth and final goal of the match with an assist from Asa Moncivais.
The first half concluded with a score of 4-0, with Highline taking 14 shots to SW Oregon’s one.
Highline frequently set up their teammates to score with four assists for the game. The T-Birds rank third in league for assists with 43 overall.
In the second half, Highline continued to press the opponent with nine shots to the Lakers’ six.
The T-Birds stopped the Lakers from netting a single goal through the 90 minute match. With the shutout victory, Highline advanced to the NWAC semifinals.
“It was a very good performance from minute one through minute 90. Every player on our game day roster got in the game, which was great! I think the biggest takeaway is that we have to be prepared to be at our best for the whole 90 minutes to fight for a win against Walla Walla in the semifinals,” said Head Coach Steve Mohn.
Highline’s powerhouse performance throughout the season has not gone unnoticed as four T-Birds and their head coach received league recognition last Monday.
Freshman Ryo Takeuchi was awarded the West Region MVP and made the NWAC All-Star Team as a midfielder.
Forward Zane May was also awarded a spot on the NWAC All-Star teams along with Highline defenders Kody Carmel and Josh Job.
Last but not least, Highline Head Coach Mohn was awarded West Region Coach of the Year for the 2022 season.
This Friday, Highline will play their semifinal match against Walla Walla at 6:30 p.m. at the Starfire field.
The winner of that match will play the winner of the Everett/Columbia Basin game in the NWAC soccer championship match on Sunday Nov. 13.