Wildcats nearly upset Spartans | Soccer

The most valuable player on the Oak Harbor High School soccer team this year might have been OHHS trainer Trevor Reed.

The injury-riddled Wildcats finished up the season with a 2-0 loss to Stanwood Wednesday, Oct. 24, at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

What looked to be a promising year for Oak Harbor soon evaporated as the injuries began to mount. The Wildcats started the year with a tie and win then dropped 14 straight.

Coach Jeff Laiblin said three-quarters of his varsity players missed at least one match, 60 percent missed three or more.

Shorthanded as usual with six players out, the Wildcats put up a fight against Stanwood (6-6-1, 7-7-1) in the season finale.

The Spartans, coached by Oak Harbor graduate Kyle Veach, defeated Oak Harbor 6-0 earlier this fall. This time around the Wildcats "stepped up" and "played a near perfect game," Laiblin said. Stanwood finished tied for second in the Wesco North and had a win over first-place and ranked Everett.

Oak Harbor avoided the mistakes which have haunting them lately, Laiblin said, and "nearly pulled off the upset, as we had several scoring opportunities just miss."

Laiblin said, "I was really proud of how they played all game. It was fun and highly competitive last night. I told them before the game that we had been through a lot this season and our record did not show how good we were and how well we were capable of playing…I told them if we could play mistake free, we would pull it off last night, which is what we nearly did."

Contact Whidbey News Times Sports editor Jim Waller at jwaller@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360-675-6611 ext. 5060.

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