Despite being the most dominant boys soccer program in the history of Washington, the Thomas Jefferson Raiders have struggled getting out of the first round of the state tournament.
That all ended Wednesday night with a 5-2 win over the Mariner Marauders in the opening game of the Class 4A State Boys Soccer Tournament on the turf at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.
The victory was the first time the Raiders have advanced into the quarterfinals since winning the program’s state-record seventh big-school championship in 2005. Jefferson, the champions of the South Puget Sound League, had lost in the first round in four of the past five years, including a loss to Mariner two years ago.
But it wasn’t easy against Mariner, the winners of the WesCo Conference South Division. The unbeaten Raiders (15-0-4) withstood a back-and-forth first 40 minutes and scored a pair of second-half goals to put away the pesky Marauders.
Next up for TJ is a quarterfinal match against Inglemoor, who outlasted Puyallup in their state opener Tuesday, 4-3, in a penalty-kick shootout. Jefferson will host Inglemoor (12-2-1) at 1 p.m. at Federal Way Memorial Stadium on Saturday with a berth into the semifinals on the line.
Wednesday, the Raiders took a quick lead against Mariner when Justin Yoon took a pass from Brandon Madsen just over two minutes into the match to give TJ a 1-0 lead. But the lead wouldn’t last too long.
Mariner’s Geovanni Ramirez banged in a goal in the 10th minute to tie the match. It came after Raider goalkeeper McKay Owsley stopped a point-blank shot only to have the ball bounce right onto the Ramirez’s foot.
Five minutes later, Carlos Rodriguez put the Marauders on top, 2-1, when he chipped a shot over the outstretched arms of Owsley.
But the Mariner lead was short-lived. Jefferson equalized on a goal from Luis Alvaro Osornio less than a minute later on another pass from Madsen. The Raiders took the lead for good, 3-2, in the 34th minute on a goal from Madsen on an assist from Isidro Prado-Huerta.
The second half was a different story with the Raiders dominating possession and controlling the match. Matthew Cruz scored on a pass from Prado-Huerta in the 47th minute and Prado-Huerta put the match away with a goal in the 77th minute.
At Snohomish 3, Federal Way 0
The SPSL South-champion Eagles were bounced in the opening round of the Class 4A boys soccer tournament by the Panthers, 3-0. The game was played on Snohomish’s home field.
The Panthers (18-1-0) scored their first goal in the 12th minute of the game and cruised from there. Snohomish added their second goal just before halftime.
Snohomish held the 2-0 lead until the 62nd minute when Tyler Mayer tallied his second goal of the game. Federal Way (16-3-0) had trouble penetrating the Panthers’ defense all night light.
For a slideshow of Jefferson’s win over Mariner, click here.
