Arlington soccer beats Stanwood 2-1 on road stretch

It seems that soccer players can weather almost anything.

By Danielle Szulczewski • April 3, 2009 5:10 pm
Arlington senior Robert O'Day receives a pass from teammate Walter Flores despite the attempts of Stanwood's Tadele Dillon to steal it away. O'Day earned an assist in Arlington's 2-1 win over the Spartans.
Arlington senior Robert O'Day receives a pass from teammate Walter Flores despite the attempts of Stanwood's Tadele Dillon to steal it away. O'Day earned an assist in Arlington's 2-1 win over the Spartans.

STANWOOD — It seems that soccer players can weather almost anything.

Through wind, cold and steady rain, the Arlington soccer team sharpened their game, winning April 1 against a big rival on the road in a 2-1 comeback victory at Stanwood.

“With it being spring break, I think we came out a little soft,” said Arlington coach Mike Gudgeon. “And with the weather the way that it was, I felt like Stanwood was more ready to play the game than we were.”

Stanwood scored first, in the 27th minute.

But with about a minute to go before halftime, Arlington got the shot of adrenaline they needed as junior forward Jake Smith went for the Stanwood goal from the left side of the net. The keeper deflected it, but fellow forward David Lopez rebounded the block, giving the Eagles a 1-1 tie going into the half.

Appearing less phased by the weather and more in sync with their fast-passing offense, the Arlington boys started controlling the tempo of the game with quicker passes and more possessions of the ball. It paid off as Lopez scored the winning goal in the 49th minute on an assist by Robert O’Day.

The latter goal came on an adjustment Arlington made offensively thanks to an infusion of young talent. O’Day, an all-league defender for several years, has moved up to a midfield/forward position thanks to the strengths of sophomore defenders Nick Welch and Hunter Amundson.

“We switched to a new formation to fit the strengths of the kids we have,” Gudgeon said. The new formation paid off in Lopez’s goals as well. “He played forward for us last year. We switched our formation to where we only had one forward, so he learned to play that outside mid and he’s done everything we asked.”

With an April 6 home game against Oak Harbor rescheduled, the Eagles take a 3-3 record into their sixth consecutive road game, at Cascade. Gudgeon is anxious for the rematch and the beginning of a seven-game home stretch.

“We’re really excited to finish up and see Cascade again and see almost everybody at home,” he added.

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