MARYSVILLE — The Marysville-Pilchuck boys soccer team failed to find the back of the net April 28 as they were shut out by the Arlington Eagles 2-0.
Arlington got their first goal the 26th minute.
“We didn’t play very well,” said manager Geoff Kittle. “After Arlington scored their first goal, we kind of panicked and struggled to control the ball.”
Kittle said the Tommies played well in the first 20 minutes and had lots of opportunities but were unable to capitalize.
Play for the Tommies didn’t improve in the second half according to Kittle.
“In the second half, we really didn’t get many opportunities where we could finish,” he said. “We kind of got away from possessing the ball and we didn’t have too much pressure on the goal.”
Arlington scored again in the 75th minute when M-P pushed almost all of its players into the box on a corner kick.
“We were trying to find a way to get a goal and get back in the game,” said Kittle. “We had just one defender back, but it was worth taking the risk as we needed the goal.”
Despite the loss to Arlington, M-P still has its sights set on becoming north league champions.
“The Snohomish game (May 2) is a pretty big game for us because if we win that game we’ll be the north league champs” said Kittle. “So that’s going to be an important game for us.”
A win over Snohomish would also mean the Tommies would host a semifinal match at Quil Ceda Stadium.
“We were hoping that we didn’t have to rely on wining that march against Snohomish but since we’ve lost the last two matches, we’re going to have to dig down deep and find a way to pull that game out which we are capable of doing,” said Kittle. “I’m looking for our guys to find their confidence again. We’ve been shut out for three straight halves. We usually average 2-3 goals per game.
“If our guys come out and play confident and we control the ball like we know we can, things should go our way.”
Marysville’s next game will be at home, May 4, against Stanwood.
