Eastlake High Boys Soccer: Wolves Conquer Kentwood 2-1 to Advance to State Championship

The  boys' soccer team (13-3-2) came out flying against Kentwood thanks to a Trevor Seliber goal at the 32 second mark of the first half on Friday night.

The Wolves built on that momentum and knocked off Kentwood (16-2-3) by a score of 2-1, in the first Class 4A State Semifinal at Harry Lang Stadium.

"That was a dream start, too good to be true," Eastlake Coach Adam Gervis said of the goal scored in the opening 32 seconds.

Eastlake also was stellar on the defensive end. Zack Wile, a senior, had some big saves, which helped the Wolves defense and made Kentwood battle for anything they got during the contest.

"We played great for the entire 80 minutes," Wile said. "We knew Kentwood was going to be a challenge."

The Conquerors had previously beaten No. 1 ranked Todd Beamer High School in the State Quarterfinals.

Kentwood nearly leveled the match in the 40th minute when a shot hit just on the underside of the crossbar of the goal. But it did not cross the goal line and Eastlake went into the half holding a 1-0 lead.

The Wolves would go up 2-0 in the 45th minute when Michael Gallagher headed in another precisely-placed corner kick. This was another example of Eastlake's execution on corner kicks.

"We were brilliant on corner kicks tonight," said Gerard Galvin, a senior who won the game's sportsmanship medal from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA).

Kentwood got back in the game when Cody Crook made a hard run down the Wolves defense and beat Wile to slice the lead to 2-1 for Eastlake at the 54th minute mark.

"We settled down nicely in the first half, then it became nip and tuck, and then in the second half we knew Kentwood was going to come back at us." Gervis said. "You can see how they beat (Todd Beamer), they did a nice job."

The Wolves continued to hold strong the rest of the way, absorbing the Conqueror attack when they pushed forward. But the Wolves were not afraid to attack when the situation presented itself.

This persistence comes partially because of the Eastlake players' approach to practice, which includes a daily ladder exercise drill. Gervis said his players didn't seem to be fans of it.

"They hated it every day, but they did it every day with a laugh," Gervis said.

After the win and with the State Championship game on Saturday afternoon, Wile and Gervis knew their team would be excited and ready for the challenge.

"We lost in the semifinals my freshman year in PK's , so I am definitely excited to play for a State Championship." Wile said, referring to penalty kicks.

"We need to get some good sleep and get a good meal in them at a proper place to eat," Gervis said. Our school district is very good about helping us in these situations."

The Wolves will take on neighborhood rival , which rallied late in the second half to knock off reigning State 4A champion Stadium High School 3-2 in the second semifinal on Friday Night.

Start time is 4 p.m. on Saturday. This will be the third meeting between the two sides as Eastlake has won the first two. The winner on Saturday will be the 2011 Class 4A WIAA Boys Soccer State Champion.