BOYS SOCCER: SPSL North title still in reach for Kentridge

With just days remaining in the regular season on the South Puget Sound League North Division boys soccer pitch, one thing remains abundantly clear: It’s still anybody’s game.

“It’s still wide open,” said Kentridge coach Glenn Walrond. “Before the season, I talked with a few coaches and we all thought that six teams would be fighting for four playoff spots.”

And that’s exactly what has happened.

With two games remaining on the regular-season schedule as of Monday night, Jefferson (10-2-3 with 33 points in league) and Kentridge (9-2-3, 30) already had clinched two of those playoff berths.

Meanwhile, Auburn Riverside (8-2-4, 28), Tahoma (9-4-1, 28) and Kentlake (7-5-2, 23) also are in the mix for a playoff berth. The Ravens and Bears still have an outside shot of capturing the North Division title, but would need help.

Kentwood (6-5-3, 21 points) was eliminated from postseason contention on Saturday after working a scoreless tie with Kentlake.

Any tiebreakers from the North – and there very well could be a couple – will be played next Monday.

Kentridge, which has been one of the league’s most consistent teams, didn’t officially clinch a playoff berth until Saturday, when Kentlake tied Kentwood. Jefferson blanked Federal Way 3-0 the same night, giving the Raiders the inside track on the North Division crown.

However, it all could come down to Friday afternoon, when Jefferson plays host to Kentridge at 3:30 p.m. Kentridge needs to beat Kentlake on Tuesday to essentially force a showdown for the crown.

“It is one of their goals (to win the league title),” Walrond said. “The seniors would like to have a banner, but the big picture is just making the playoffs.”

Auburn Riverside and Tahoma still have title aspirations as well. Mathematically, there even could be a four-way tie for the top spot (if Kentridge beats Kentlake on Tuesday, then ties with Thomas Jefferson on Friday while AR and Tahoma both win out, a four-way tie would be forged).

Whatever happens, it remains clear that Kentridge might currently be playing its best soccer of the season. The Chargers posted a pair of wins last week, throttling Kent-Meridian 5-0 and doing the same to Federal Way, 7-1. Both offensive outbursts established a new season-high in goals scored.

During that two-game, 12-goal stretch five different players – Sam Piehler, Jesse Jensen, Scott Geffre, Landen Wasserstrom and Emmanuel Camarero – scored two goals apiece. Piehler, Nicolas Tobon and Sean Dunn each had a pair of assists as well.

One of the keys to Kentridge’s surge to the upper echelon of the North Division standings has been Geffre. A first-team all-leaguer last spring, Geffre has scored seven goals this season, a mark that may seem lower than anticipated.

It’s the things that don’t show up in the statistics that has made Geffre so key, Walrond said.

“Everybody thought he’d be a big scorer this year and he’s just made things run so well,” he said. “His vision has increased. Without scoring, he has created so much more.”