Real Magnolia F.C. grabbed its second consecutive regular season division crown, winning the 2006 Seattle Youth Soccer Association Silver A Division with a record of seven wins, one loss and two ties.
The team-a boys under-11 soccer team hailing from the Magnolia Soccer Club-clinched the division title Nov. 11 with a 2-1 defeat of the Wedgwood Dolphins at Greenlake.
The championship season, however, didn't start out like one, with Real Magnolia losing its opener to the Crown Hill Cougars 3-4, despite rallying with three straight goals in the second half, including striker Andrew Gangnes' first two of several goals he was to score throughout the season.
As it turns out, though, that was the last time that Real Magnolia was to be on the losing end of a score.
The team's success depended on a stingy defense, which gave up only seven goals and secured four shutouts in the team's remaining nine games.
Defenders Dakota Keltto and Keifer Dundas almost always lived up to their mantra of "no shots allowed," and when opposing players did manage to get a shot off, goalkeepers Ryan Gross and Matt Hertog routinely kept the ball out of the net.
Hertog's spectacular saves in Real's second game against the Mount Baker Badgers and Gross' key saves in the game against then league-leading HL Coyotes were keys to those victories.
Unrelenting defensive pressure and dominance of the midfield by center midfielders Elliott Brockl and Ryley Mandigo triggered much of the team's successful offense throughout the season. Mandigo also kicked a couple of the team's more memorable goals on long distance strikes, including the winning goal from 35 yards out in the team's final game against the Wedgwood Dolphins to clinch the division championship.
Jack Deal, Matt Essig, Matt Hertog and Jefferson Lee covered the outside positions using their speed and ball skills to consistently defend, bring the ball up the sidelines and make effective crosses into the center of the field. John Reed provided a large part of the team's finishing offense from the right midfield and striker positions, kicking a team-leading 15 goals, including two goals against the Crown Hill Cougars in the key late-season rematch against the then-league leader as well as a hat trick against the Mount Baker Badgers.
-Submitted by John Reed[[In-content Ad]]
