Oak Harbor loses a pair at home / Soccer

By Jim Waller • March 25, 2019 1:30 am

After dropping a pair of home matches over the weekend, the Oak Harbor High School soccer team will continue to look for its first win of the season this week.

The Wildcats lost 2-1 to Shorecrest Friday, March 22, and 4-0 to Marysville Getchell the following evening.

Oak Harbor (0-4, 0-6) heads to Lynnwood (0-2-1, 0-3-1) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, and hosts Edmonds-Woodway (1-1-2, 1-2-2) at 7 p.m. Friday, March 29.

Shorecrest 2, Oak Harbor 1

The Scots thumped Oak Harbor 12-0 last year, but the Wildcats gave Shorecrest (3-1, 3-3) all it could handle this time around.

Oak Harbor, almost back to full strength for the first time this season, played its “best game of the year,” according to coach Jeff Laiblin.

The two teams played a scoreless first half, then Nathan Merrill “received a great pass from Brandon McCracken and blasted a shot that found its way into the net off of a Shorecrest defender,” Laiblin said.

Oak Harbor held the 1-0 lead until Shorecrest scored twice within five minutes.

The Wildcats produced several good scoring opportunities but couldn’t get the equalizer in the tough loss.

“Jakob Wilson played great in the goal but had to leave the game midway through the second half due to leg cramping,” Laiblin said. “Maxwell Brighton came in and played great coming cold off the bench.”

Getchell 4, Oak Harbor 0

“Tonight did not go as I had hoped,” Laiblin said after the match. “We did not have the energy level we had the night before in the first half. We had opportunities but didn’t convert.”

Marysville Getchell (1-3, 1-4), however, did convert to take a 1-0 lead at halftime.

Oak Harbor “dominated the second half,” Laiblin said, but the Wildcats came up empty, just missing a chance to score when Brandon McCracken’s shot hit the post.

With 15 minutes left, Oak Harbor began to take risks while pushing for the equalizer. That led to a Charger breakaway that resulted in a penalty kick.

Getchell tacked on two more goals in the final minute.

Laiblin praised the play of Taiveyon Shaw, who “had a fantastic game on defense.”

“We were better than the score shows,” Laiblin said. “Now we push on trying to put more games together like Friday. Consistency will be the key.”