Charles Wright’s season ends with 3-1 loss to Overlake in 1A state quarterfinals

The season for Charles Wright Academy boys soccer came to a close Friday as it fought hard in a 3-1 loss to Overlake, coming just short of what would have been the team's’ first trip to the 1A semifinals since 2007 when the Tarriers took third in state.

“It only hurts like this if you’ve given everything you’ve got,” Charles Wright coach Bill Chissoe said. “The pain will eventually fade. What they built, what they went through together, all the effort, they’re gonna have that forever.”

That hard work showed in the game as the team fought hard after being down two going into the half to draw back to within one off a rebound goal that was slammed home by junior Stuart Kraabel in the team’s lone goal of the game.

“I couldn’t be prouder. We had five seniors this year, they gave everything I could ever ask for,” Chissoe said. “All of them, they do it right.”

Overlake drew first blood with Brevin Lacey scoring at the 23-minute mark followed by Nathan Cunningham scoring off a free kick that sailed in untouched in the last moments of stoppage time in the first half.

“They play hard, they play the way the game's supposed to play,” Chissoe said. “Just didn’t go our way tonight.”

Charles Wright came out in the second with newfound determination and intensity to generate opportunities to come back in the game. Kraabel would almost score again after his initial score to tie it up off a cross by Michael Saffari in what would have been a goal that could have shifted momentum to give the Tarriers new life.

However, that wasn’t to be as Nate Skochdopole got a goal of insurance for Overlake in the 69th minute to make the score 3-1 which would end up as the final score of the game as Charles Wright couldn’t get enough chances to turn into goals as the clock ran down on the team’s last game of the season.

The loss puts an end to an impressive regular season that saw the Tarriers finish with an impressive 11-2-1 winning record. This put them on the track to one of their better finishes in recent years which left coach Chissoe singing the praises of his team and his fellow coaches after the game.

“They’re a great group of boys. I couldn’t ask for a better coaching staff,” Chissoe said. “They’re fantastic soccer players. They’re just great young men who gave everything they’ve got and played hard and do it the right way and play for each other.”

Overlake will now go on to play The Bush School in the semifinals at 4 p.m. Friday at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.

This story was originally published May 19, 2017 at 11:32 PM with the headline "Charles Wright’s season ends with 3-1 loss to Overlake in 1A state quarterfinals."