Auburn Mountainview soccer preps for another final four

For the last two seasons, the Auburn Mountainview boys soccer team has felt overlooked, under-appreciated and just flat out doubted.

But for the second time in as many years, Manager Joey West has taken his team to the final four as the Lions prepare to take on No. 3 Mercer Island on May 30 at Sparks Stadium.

“Our chemistry is insane. We are playing at such a high level and our practices are so intense. That really breeds us playing at a higher level. When they come into games, they are literally playing against people that are less intense than they are playing with at practice,” West said.

The Lions were fairly given the No. 15 seed in the state tournament this season. The Lions were the final team from the West Central District Tournament to make the 3A state bracket, and now they are a game away from a possible state championship.

“I feel like a lot of people didn’t think we would get here. I guarantee you some people even on this team thought we would be first round exits or not even get past the round of 16. We have effort and chemistry over other teams. We might not have the best club players, but we have each other,” senior goalkeeper Jonathan Ochoa-Felix said.

This was not a dissimilar position as they were in last year, but arguably this year they are in a better position. Last year the Lions were seeded No. 17 and went on to beat Spanaway Lake, No. 1 seed Shorewood and Bainbridge to reach the semifinals against Garfield.

There is an interesting dichotomy that Auburn Mountainview has experienced this season. In the league season, they are the favorites, and every team in the NPSL knows the caliber of team that takes the field for Auburn Mountainview.

“I think we are going into the semifinal game underestimated. We like being the underdogs,” Ochoa-Felix said.

But in the state tournament the script flips, and the Lions go from the hunted to the hunter. That switch is invaluable for West and his players. Playing with a chip on their shoulder gives them the boost they need.

“Being the underdog motivates us a lot. The mentality definitely changed. But in terms of how we come out, it stays the same. This time it just feels better when we beat teams because we know Gig Harbor and Heritage didn’t expect us. Hopefully Mercer Island doesn’t expect us, so we can come out and punch them in the mouth,” Ochoa-Felix said.

For this year’s run, the Lions downed Ridgeline in a play-in game, and then took on No. 2 Heritage in Vancouver, WA, back on May 23. The Lions won that game in penalties after going scoreless in regular time and overtime. That win took everything out of the Lions, but it meant everything to win.

“That whole 100 minutes we gave it our all. As a senior we knew this might be our last game. The two seed didn’t scare us because we had done it before. We battled through it and gave it every ounce of sweat we had,” senior Spencer Evenson said.

The immediate next day was the quarterfinals, where the Lions took on Gig Harbor in what West said was their best game of the season. The 3-0 shutout put the Lions right back in the final four — No. 17 last year and No. 15 this year.

A year ago the Lions had Davyd Fedina, who scored eight goals in the first three games of the state tournament. This year the Lions don’t have Fedina, but they play more as a team than ever before.

This group is a special group for West, who touts that funnily enough, he doesn’t have to coach them hard. They do that themselves before, during and even after practice.

“It’s really cool because I taught them everything last year. They understood the culture we were trying to create. Now we are playing as a team, building from the back. It is a whole team effort. Last year was fun, but I am so proud this year’s team was able to step up and play together. It’s the easiest team I have ever had to coach,” West said.

In the district tournament, the Lions took a loss on the chin to Central Kitsap, 2-1, in a winner-to-state game. After a win against Decatur, the Lions had a second chance to clinch a state appearance against Kent-Meridian.

The Lions fell 2-0 and were shut out for the first time all season. That had to be the turning point for this group, and it was.

“We didn’t have a lot of losses in the regular season, so we kind of needed that. After the game we realized we need to come in locked in and trusting each other,” Ochoa-Felix said.

Since that loss, the Lions have won four straight games and are playing with a full head of steam.

As far as the next matchup goes, Mercer Island is no slouch. The Islanders just pounded Kent-Meridian into the ground 6-1, tying the state tournament high in goals in a single game for this year’s tournament.

The Lions are going to rely on their backline to slow the Islanders, just as they have slowed every opponent this season.

“Our D-Line isn’t talked about enough about how we clear the ball up. We just defend for our lives back there,” Evenson said.