Cruiser soccer finishes season with win over Foss

The Cruiser boys soccer team finished up its 2021 season with a big win on senior night in front of the home crowd at B.W. Lyons Stadium this past Thursday by shutting out the Foss Falcons, 2-0.

The Cruisers saved all their scoring for the second half. Their first goal and eventual game winner came from senior Josh Recktenwald. Max Van Eaton sent in a corner kick that Cauy Wood headed to Recktenwald for the score.

Cruiser junior Kevin Tomyn finished the scoring with a hard strike just inside the 18-yard box.

Sophomore goalkeeper John DeHaan had four saves to keep the game safe while the Cruisers mounted numerous attacks with 10 shots on goal, five of them “on frame.”

The Cruiser seniors playing their last game for Eatonville were Wood, Spencer Bois, Van Eaton, Ben Harrison, Recktenwald, Kjellsen Nykreim and Cobey Uhls.

“The coaches appreciate the contributions of each and every one of our seniors this year and every year they played at EHS,” heach coach Jay Cash said. “Their no-quit attitude and indomitable spirit are what encourages younger players to follow in their footsteps and ensures the future of Eatonville soccer. We wish our seniors well next year in whatever they choose to do, and we will always hold a seat on the bench for them.”

Cash also talked about the shortened season they deemed the “COVID year.”

“This season was a wild ride with the many changes due to COVID-19 restrictions,” Cash said. “We came into the season with incredible optimism but very little time to prepare, given only five days to practice before the first game. Our first game was against our league’s best overall team where we played well, but White River just played better. Using this as a learning step in this year’s development, we got better and better with each game. This season came with multiple changes to the schedule. I counted eight schedule changes this year, which really does affect game preparation at times, but the boys just kept pushing through, demonstrating their flexibility, which is a cornerstone of the game of soccer. We came into the year prepared to move back to the Evergreen 1A league, which has teams that look and feel more like us. Playing teams that have premiere soccer clubs in their back yards, on top of Eatonville not having a middle school boys program, sometimes we play with a distinct disadvantage. Add to that the fact that we play most of our games against teams on turf, and we are a grass community, we have much difficulty at our away games. The game is just very different on turf than grass. If you had ever played, you would know.

“Through all of this, the boys just came out and had fun with a game they enjoyed,” Cash added. “They needed to be together after this long year of school adaptations and rigid restrictions. We are better together, as a former principal at EHS used to say. This year allowed us to also be our best selves despite the individual challenges.”

The Cruisers finished their season with a 2-8 record in the SPSL 2A league. The Cruisers will be playing in the 1A Evergreen next season with more small-town schools similar to Eatonville’s size.