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12A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018 SEASIDE SEAGULLS GIRLS SOCCER • BOYS SOCCER • CROSS COUNTRY Lots of experience on the field for Seaside By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian he 2018 Seaside boys soccer program is on a mission: The Gulls are out to get what they didn’t get last year. Ranked No. 1 for much of the season, the Gulls lost in the Class 4A state quarterfi- nals a year ago, a 2-1 heart- breaker to Newport, which scored a late goal to escape Broadway Field on its way to a state championship. Had they beaten Newport, the Gulls would have had the home field advantage in the semifinals. Seaside lost a few seniors here and there, but for the most part, the Gulls are back and stronger than before. Clatsop County has never produced a high school soc- cer state championship team. The 2018 Gulls — who were ranked No. 1 to end last sea- son — are hoping to be the first. A T struggling program looks for positives wherever it can find them — and there weren’t many for the Seaside girls soc- cer team in 2017. Over their first six games last year, the Lady Gulls were 0-6 and had been outscored 29-1. Still, Seaside managed to find a positive with a strong finish, as the Gulls had just one loss over the final four games, with three ties. In addition, they had four players on the all-league team, and three of those four return. That has the Seaside girls soccer team thinking posi- tive as the Gulls enter a new season, the third under head coach Josh Garhofer. THE COWAPA The defending league champion is gone, but the defending state champion is still there, as the “Conference of Champions” gears up for another season. Scappoose — which was 10-0 in league games last year — has moved to the Class 5A level, leaving the Cowapa with just five teams. Valley Catholic finished second in the league stand- ings last season, but got hot in the playoffs and won the state title, defeating Hidden Val- ley 1-0 in the championship game, giving the Valiants their third title in the last five years. Valley Catholic had seven players on the all-league team, including five juniors. “Valley has a new coach (Kibwe Cuffie), but they always have a solid program,” Garhofer said. “I have this the- ory, where I don’t like one pro- gram holding everyone back. But we’ve really had some tough opponents the last few years in the Cowapa League.” Banks finished 4-6-3 over- all last year — below par for the Braves — but Garhofer said, “Banks is back, and Til- lamook’s been putting a lot of summer work in … it’s really interesting right now, because everything is up in the air.” THE LADY GULLS No one was happier than Garhofer when the Gulls showed up at preseason prac- tices with one of the largest turnouts in years. “This is the biggest turn- out I’ve ever been a part of,” Garhofer said. “Our freshman class is our biggest, which is the first time we’ve ever had that.” Seaside only lost three seniors off last year’s team, but all three (Bryre Bab- bitt, Corrie Falleur, Sonoma Moon) were significant. “Each one played defense,” Garhofer said. “But we have Lofty goals for Seaside boys soccer THE COWAPA Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian Chloe Bartel enters her fourth varsity season. SEASIDE GIRLS SOCCER Coach: Josh Garhofer, 3rd year 2017: 1-9-3 (1-6-3 league) All-league loss: Bryre Babbitt. All-league returners: Jessica Angulo-Joli, Sr., Chloe Bartel, Sr., Corrie Falleur, So. a lot of young girls coming up with a lot of experience there. So as much as I miss the seniors, at least these girls will take some of the pressure off.” The Gulls have a whop- ping nine seniors on this year’s roster. Among those, “we have Chloe Bartel, Audrey Kunde, Katie Zagata and Maddy Brown — four seniors who have been varsity for all four years,” Garhofer said. “When they go, it will be a huge blow to the program. They know a lot about ball movement and they understand the game. They communicate well — it sounds like they’re teachers out there.” Seaside’s starting goal- keeper also did not return, but “we have a lot of players in training, and they’re getting a crash course in keeping,” Gar- hofer said. “Taylor Carson (senior) has a lot of JV keep- ing experience, so she might be there. She’s really athletic and strong. “We also have some others, including Jihre Lopez (fresh- man) and Annaka Garhofer (coach Garhofer’s younger sister), who will be a senior. It’s also nice that we have Jes- sica Angulo-Joli (senior). She had to play keeper the last half of last season, when we lost our keeper to a concussion. Having her up top full-time now will be a huge relief.” There’s also some youthful talent on the way. “We have a young fresh- man defender, Suzy Velas- quez, and she looks real strong and aggressive right out of the gate. It’s really something when a freshman can come out looking that good.” Whether the Gulls can add numbers to the win column, only time will tell. “It’s really up to these girls,” said the coach. “They have the tools now, they have the group, and there’s a lot of young, athletic people com- ing up. It’s just how bad they want it. I just want to see that aggression, that ‘no fear’ attitude.” Assisting Garhofer will be a supporting cast that includes Matt Johnson, Dave Rouse, Peter Shepherd and Andrew Walker. It was no contest last year. The Gulls and their 9-0-1 league record finished well ahead of second-place Valley Catholic (6-2-2), while Asto- ria (the team that managed a 2-2 tie against the Gulls) fin- ished 5-3-2. It may be even less of a contest this year. The Gulls have had problems in the past with Scappoose, but the Indi- ans are no longer there, hav- ing moved to the 5A level. “If we don’t win (the league title) clearly, I’ve got a problem,” Chapman said. “I think we’ll be fine.” In fact, Chapman is more worried about the Oregon West Conference. Woodburn drops down to 4A after winning the last two state titles at the 5A level, and five championships since 2010. Also in the Oregon West is defending 4A cham- pion Newport, which features two-time all-state goalkeeper Luis Reyes. “Any of the teams play- ing in that league with Wood- burn, their league season is almost like a playoff tourna- ment, with how good they are,” he said. “They will have challenging games week in and week out. “And if we make it into the playoffs — which I anticipate we will — if we meet any of those teams, they’re going to be firing on all cylinders.” Originally, the Gulls had Stayton and Woodburn on their preseason schedule. But the Oregon West ended up with seven schools, which added games to their league season. As a result, Wood- burn and Stayton had to can- cel their nonleague games with Seaside. By contrast, teams in the The Daily Astorian Seaside’s Westin Carter, No. 17, is looking to fill a void left by his older brother Colton, the Cowapa League’s Player of the Year in 2015, ‘16 and ‘17. SEASIDE BOYS SOCCER Coach: John Chapman, 6th year 2017: 13-2-1 (9-0-1 league) Playoffs: Defeated Philo- math (1-0) in first round, lost to Newport (1-2) in state quarterfinals. All-league losses: Colton Carter (MVP), Ashton Boyd, Henry Chapman, Rafi Sibony. All-league returners: Westin Carter, So., Parker Conrad, Sr., Chase Januik , Sr., Irving Contre- ras, Sr. Cowapa League may take a hit in the RPI rankings, with Scappoose no longer there. The Fishermen, Valiants and Gulls were the only three teams that had win- ning records in the Cowapa League last year, and the only three to finish ranked in the top 20. It all adds up to another league title this year for Sea- side, which should have no problem in repeating as the Cowapa champions. THE GULLS For the first time since 2014, the Cowapa League will have a Player of the Year other than Seaside’s Colton Carter, who was league MVP in 2015, ‘16 and ‘17. The likely candidate would be Carter’s younger brother, Seaside sophomore Westin Carter, who was a first-team all-league defender last year. However, “Westin is out injured at the moment,” Chapman said. “If he had been playing against New- port, I think we would have put that one away. But he strained his hip playing against Roosevelt in the sum- mer, and will be out a couple weeks.” Even with Carter not in the lineup, the Gulls should be strong on both ends of the field, and Chapman isn’t worried. “We have a good team,” he said, following Seaside’s opener Tuesday against Newport. “Natanael Conrad (junior) had a great game. Samson Sibony (senior) had an unbelievable night in goal for his first game. He’s earn- ing that spot. He’s got good field knowledge. “And the defensive backs did a great job — didn’t let a shot get in,” he said. “With Parker Conrad (senior) on the back line, Irving Con- treras (senior), Chase Januik (senior) and Bryce DeWinter (senior), we’re strong there. “Josue Sanchez has stepped up as a junior, Natanael has stepped in to take one of those spots on the back line, and Luke Verley, an incoming freshman, has taken over for Henry (Chap- man). He’s not as quick, but definitely has some talent on the ball. Stephan Snyder (sophomore) is another who has stepped up. “We’re pretty loaded up front, for a change,” Chap- man said. “We just have to learn to finish now.” A large turnout should ensure further winning in the years to come. “We’re just under 40 play- ers,” Chapman said. “We have a very solid underclass- men and JV team, with a lot of freshmen and sophomores.” Prediction: A league championship is pretty much a given. Seaside is hoping to challenge Woodburn for a 4A state title. “They’ve been in the (5A) final seven of the last 10 years,” Chapman said. “They lost two guys last year, so they’ll be big-time favorites. We’ll see. We’ll take ‘em on. We’re ready for it.” Seaside runners hope to lead Gulls back to glory The Daily Astorian Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian Senior Ana Rojas was the top finisher for the Seaside girls in last year’s Cowapa League championship meet. Seaside cross country endured a rare “rebuilding year” in 2017, under first-year coach Frank Januik. The Seaside boys, fresh off a state championship in 2015 and a runner-up state fin- ish in ‘16, ended up fourth in the Cowapa League meet last year, while the Seaside girls did not have enough runners to qualify for team scoring. The good news — the Sea- side boys only lost one senior, while the Lady Gulls have some experienced runners who could chase down top 10 finishes in the league meet. Seaside’s big loss to grad- uation was Rafi Sibony, who took third in the league meet as a senior last year. • 2 LOCATIONS • Easy & Convenient CELEBRATING OVER 50 YEARS OF MAKING SWEET MEMORIES! Downtown Cannon Beach 256 N. Hemlock & Seaside Outlet Mall That leaves three run- ners with varsity league meet experience on the Seaside roster (as of Aug. 29): seniors Mathew Carpenter and Sam Henderson, and sophomore Cameron Lippert. Leading the Lady Gulls are a trio of senior returners, including Ana Rojas, Hayley Rollins and Katie Zagata. Rojas placed 26th in last year’s league meet. Other runners adding depth to the Seaside lineup include junior Jacie Greg- ory, sophomore Brooke Blak- enhorn, and freshmen Grace Landaker, Kimmberly Rodri- guez and Elise Seppa for the girls. Running for the Seaside boys will be juniors Nick Mace and Luis Moreno, and sophomores Sean Barnett, Henry Garvin, Jude Gomez, Francisco Rojas and Hayden Spratt. The Seaside roster will be subject to change as the Gulls approach their season opener, today in Hillsboro at the Bill Chapman Invitational. Sea- side also runs Sept. 8 in the Jewell “Elk Run” at Teevin Ranch. GO SEAGULLS!! SCORE BIG WITH YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS THIS FALL SEASON BY SHOPPING AT BRUCE’S!! GOOD LUCK TO ALL FALL ATHLETES & COACHES! CB: 503-436-2641 Seaside: 503-738-7828 www.brucescandy.com Candy Makes the Sweetest Gift!