The Spartans took a giant step towards their goal of entering the post season as the number one seed in the Metro Monday when they claimed a 2-1 win over Garfield High, the other team contending for the primo position.
That done, it would all come down to Wednesday’s game against Seattle Preparatory, Spartan Head Coach Ian McCallum said, to decide whether or not the BHS squad remained top dog in the league.
After Monday’s win, the island team led the pack with a league record of 9-1-3 (11-1-3, overall) and Garfield trailed — barely — at 9-3-2.
The first Bainbridge goal in the Garfield match was scored by Mario Vukic.
Finn Delphinidae scored the Spartans’ winning goal.
“I knew the keeper was going to bobble it because he did that before,” Delphinidae said afterward. “So, I just tried to get in front of him and I had the defender on my right and I just looked at my left and, luckily, it kind of just rolled in.
“I knew there was going to be a chance it would go in,” he added. “I just got there at the right time and the right place to work out.”
He described the game-changing goal in his usual soft-spoken, matter-of-fact way, but his teammates close by were quick to differ.
“It wasn’t luck, it was all hard work,” said one.
Whether it was luck or determination, Monday’s match was a seriously scrappy contest, several Spartans agreed, and one that they felt fortunate to come out ahead from.
“I think they’re really confident,” Delphinidae said of Garfield. “They’re good on the ball [and] they play really well as a team.”
Others agreed.
“If you have any weakness, they take advantage of it,” explained BHS senior Cal Barash-David.
“They’re quick to read what we’re doing, too,” added fellow senior Spartan Gerrit Mahling. “They’re quick to read and adjust.”
The last regular season game at home also marked Senior Night, and the team’s 10 seniors — Mahling, Delphinidae, Barash-David, Wesley Houser, Sam Maracich, Grayson Wildsmith, Dylan Curran, Glodi Kingombe, Ari Pitaski and Alec Anderson — were recognized.
The team had gone in wanting to win with eyes already cast toward the postseason, McCallum said.
“We talked before the game [and] tying the game didn’t help us,” he said. “We want to win the division and tying doesn’t help us win the division.”
Entering the postseason in the first spot rather than the second would make “a huge difference” for Bainbridge, the coach added.
The squad’s spotlight seniors this season, McCallum said, were an especially important group for him personally.
“This is a special group of guys to me,” he said. “When I moved to the island, this was the first group of kids I coached. So, I’ve know them a long, long time and they’re just a great bunch of guys.”
The senior Spartans were, he said, “great individuals [and] smart, smart kids, who are really focused on their school, and they’re going to go off and do wonderful things whatever they decide to do.”
