Cascade High's Angel Sandoval, left, controls the soccer ball while defended by Quincy's Bryan Nunez, center, and Isaac Lopez in the first half of the 1A/2B district championship match Saturday at Wenatchee High School's Apple Bowl. Cascade won 4-3.
Cascade High's Shane Slette, left, and Quincy's Erick Zepeda both go for the soccer ball in the first half of the 1A/2B district championship match Saturday at Wenatchee High School's Apple Bowl.
Cascade High's Angel Sandoval, left, controls the soccer ball while defended by Quincy's Bryan Nunez, center, and Isaac Lopez in the first half of the 1A/2B district championship match Saturday at Wenatchee High School's Apple Bowl. Cascade won 4-3.
WENATCHEE — One year ago, the Cascade High School soccer team snatched the Caribou Trail League title from Quincy only to lose the district championship to the same team days later.
In a seemingly unlikely reversal of fortune, Saturday, in the district championship, the Kodiaks netted three goals late in the second half to beat this season’s juggernaut, 4-3, completing the odd inversing of last year’s outcomes.
“It wasn’t the prettiest but we’ll take it,” said Cascade head coach Jesus Sandoval. “It was nice to take the district title for the first time since 2017. We’ve won two league titles since then but not districts.”
Jesus Sandoval
Cascade High School soccer head coach
At face value, it might appear unusual. Quincy (15-2) is the top-ranked 1A team in the state. Their only loss was a close, high-scoring match against 4A Wenatchee and ever since that moment, they have been on a 14-game winning streak.
Two games within that streak were against Cascade (11-4) but after each match, the gap would close. Cascade, who was already an elite team, has shown steady improvement throughout the year. It allowed them to take down the Jacks, and they didn’t hesitate. It was Quincy’s first loss in two months.
Both teams were already guaranteed at least one game in the state tournament before the championship, and with this outcome, both teams were rewarded by bypassing the opening round of state to start in Round 2.
The championship could have easily ended differently.
Quincy scored an early goal to take the lead and with only three minutes left in the first half they bagged their second, 2-0. But just before the whistle, Ryan Denega knocked in a corner kick on a set play to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Quincy hardly let up. Like the first half, they scored early in the second, capitalizing on a Kodiak mistake. They reinstated the two-goal advantage.
“At one point, I looked at the scoreboard and we were down 3-1 with nine minutes left,” Sandoval said. ”I’m proud of them. They never stopped playing.”
Cascade High's Shane Slette, left, and Quincy's Erick Zepeda both go for the soccer ball in the first half of the 1A/2B district championship match Saturday at Wenatchee High School's Apple Bowl.
Time must have slowed down for the Kodiaks. As the minutes ticked by they managed to condense a whole game, messy as it ended up being, into the last stretch. The first domino to fall was on a throw-in. A set play freed up Maverick Miller who slotted in the second goal.
The next fall came during a free kick just outside the box. Shane Slette arched a pass near the goal and found his brother, Cole, on the other end for the equalizer, 3-3.
Then, with just three minutes left, the last one fell after Shane cracked another free kick, this time at the keeper. Cole followed the shot, which had enough force for the keeper to bobble. When the ball slipped out of the keeper’s grip, Cole booted it into the net for the win, 4-3.
Managing all of that against a team like Quincy is a herculean task. I doubt much more could have been done in less than 10 minutes.
“The team kept their focus,” Sandoval said. “This gives the kids a lot of confidence knowing we can beat the first team in the state. The kid’s mindset, now, is that if we can beat them, we can beat anyone.”
Cascade plays King’s Way Christian (Vancouver, WA) at Highland High School (Cowiche) on Friday at 4 p.m. Quincy will host the winner of the Connell and Chelan game on Friday at 7 p.m.
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