Gig Harbor Boys Soccer Preview: Experienced and Ready for Success

There goes the saying in sports that there are no do-overs. Lose and there is not an opportunity to change the outcome.

The boys soccer team might be as close as any team to proving an exception to that rule.

The Tides started the 2010 season 13-2-2 and grabbed the number-one seed heading into districts after winning the Narrows League tournament. But the season was cut short with a shocking double-overtime loss to 8th-seeded Federal Way in the West Central District playoffs.

"That was a bummer last year," head coach Todd Northstrom said. "It's probably the most feeling empty, as a coach."

The good news for Gig Harbor is that there is a real chance for this team to truly avenge that loss. Nearly every position will be manned by a player with starting experience from the 2010 squad, including eight members who earned all-league honors in 2010.

Northstrom, in his ninth year as the Tides head coach, said the loss to Federal Way is still fresh in his players' minds.

"I see these guys all the time at school," Northstrom said. "That [loss] hasn't been forgotten at all. It comes up in conversation a lot."

Gig Harbor will have a serious chance at making the state tournament this season, with a group that prides itself on preparation. All-area team goalkeeper, Korey Durkee, and leading goal-scorer, Robby Ubben, lead a group that Northstrom described as perhaps the best overall collection of talent he has ever had at Gig Harbor.

"I was talking to Tally Hall (former GHHS captain and current goalkeeper with the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer,) and I was going, 'This is probably the best team I've had since his senior year,'" Northstrom said. "From the starters through the bench, it might be even a tad better."

The Tides also have a wildcard player that teams did not have a chance to see in 2010. Forward Victor Akoi was hampered by injuries last year and only played a total of one game's worth of minutes all year, according to Northstrom. His return is expected to make an impact in 2011.

"He's a super-talented, fast, hardworking guy," Northstrom said of Akoi. "He's coming out like he's got something to prove this year."

Gig Harbor should also be aided by the fact that most of its players have not just last year's experience to fall back on, but a multitude of seasons on the varsity. Northstrom returned to coaching at Gig Harbor three years ago after a break and started that year's varsity squad with many of the players currently leading the Tides.

"Three years ago, I kind of started with these guys," Northstrom said. "I kind of cleaned house and started with sophomores and freshman, so these guys have been with me for about three years now. Practices and everything are a lot smoother this year, we get through things a lot quicker, they kind of understand each other."

The Tides will face a regular season that has more importance than in years past. There will be no Narrows League tournament this season, meaning the top four teams in the league will be seeded for districts based on their regular season finishes. With the perennially good Bellarmine Prep and teams like South Kitsap and Central Kitsap battling the Tides, the conference schedule will be more of a test than ever for Gig Harbor, something that Northstrom welcomes.

"I like the fact that we don't have a Narrows League tournament this year because we just beat each other up the last couple of years, going through that process," Northstrom said.

The way 2010 ended may still be fresh in the minds of the Gig Harbor players, but 2011 will give them a chance to make amends.

"It's a good team," Northstrom said. "And they're hungry."

The Tides will take the field on Friday at Olympia at 7 p.m.