And just like that in the blink of an eye, the regular season of Metro Boys soccer is over and teams are gearing up for the playoffs and fighting for a spot in the state championship. This season had crazy games, comebacks, great goals, and a whole bunch of soccer. Lincoln ended up winning the Metro Mountain division and Bishop Blanchet took the Metro Sound.
Let’s take a look at all the playoff-bound Metro League teams and how their regular season went.
Bishop Blanchet (12-1-1)
The Bishop Blanchet Bear had an amazing season ending with a record of 12 wins, 1 tie, and 1 loss. The Bears ended top of their division and had the most points in the entire Metro. They are looking to make a deep run in the playoffs and have a run at the state championships. The Bears will face Chief Sealth in the first round of playoffs.
Eastside Catholic (11-1-2)
The Eastside Catholic Crusaders fell just short of the 1st place spot that the Bears have. The Crusaders end with a record of 11 wins, 2 tie, and 1 loss, and take the 2nd place spot after dropping points to West Seattle in the last game of the season. EC had a new coach and it clearly helped the squad out they have taken many steps in the right direction to become a dominant program. The Cru will play Roosevelt in the first round of playoffs.
Lincoln of Seattle (9-1-3)
The reigning state champions, Lincoln of Seattle showed that they are still an elite team with state championship aspirations. They end the regular season with 9 wins, 3 ties, and 1 loss. They are one of the favorites to win another state championship and be the first team to win back-to-back since Camas in 2006-2007. They have earned a bye in the first round of playoffs.
Lakeside (7-3-3)
The Lakeside Lions had a season that did not live up to their high standard, ending with 7 wins, 3 ties, and 3 losses and the 2nd place spot in Metro Mountain and 4th place in the entire Metro. The Lions are a historical powerhouse and should not be written off for a deep playoff run. Lakeside has 4 state championship appearances and 2 rings in the past 18 seasons. They are a well built and coached program and will be a worthy opponent for anyone in their way. They have earned a bye in the first round of playoffs.
Nathan Hale (8-5)
Nathan Hale ended the season with 8 wins and 5 losses. The Raiders averaged the most goals in all of metro with 3.1 goals per game. Their lethal offense was led by senior captain and Seattle University commit, Alex Notzka. However, a lack luster defense held the Raiders back conceding 1.5 goals a game. They have earned a playoffs game against Franklin.
Seattle Prep (6-3-5)
The Panthers also had a hot start to their season, Prep went undefeated in their first 7 games before falling to O’Dea 2-0. They ended the season getting thrashed by Lakeside 4-0 and leaving a bitter taste in their mouth going into the playoffs. The Panthers earned the last spot for byes in the first round of playoffs.
O’Dea (7-5-2)
O’Dea had a relatively quiet regular season ending with 7 wins, 5 losses, and 2 ties. They were led by Captain and university of Duke commit, Julius Suber. Suber had 9 goals in 14 games and was the core of the Irish attack. The Irish had a hot start but only won 1 of their last 6 games. O’Dea will try to regain their momentum as they head into playoffs. They earned a bye in the first round and will face the winner of Garfield and West Seattle.
Garfield (6-5-3)
The Garfield Bulldogs had a mediocre season, they seemed to be in limbo between being a top team and a bottom team. The Bulldogs proved their worth with some big results like splitting points with both O’Dea and Lincoln (Seattle) and thrashing Ballard 5-1. They also had low points like losing to Lakeside 2 times in 2 weeks. Garfield showed they can compete at the highest level, they need one more push next year to become a top team. They were just short of a bye and earned a playoffs spot playing Ingraham.
West Seattle (6-6-2)
The West Seattle Wildcats had a disappointing season following their dominant 22/23 campaign. Last year, the Wildcats ended 3rd in Metros, this season West Seattle dropped 7 places ending 10th. West Seattle still managed to earn a spot in a play-in game against Ingraham, they lost 5-1 ending their season before playoffs. However, their season was not all disappointing, they ended the season on a high, drawing with Eastside Catholic 1-1 in the final game of the season on their senior night.
Ingraham (7-6)
The Ingraham Rams also had a disappointing season following their phenomenal 22/23 campaign. The Rams were 1st place in Metros last year and finished 9th this season. Ingraham seemed to have a similar problem to Nathan Hale, they scored nearly 2.5 goals a game but, conceded 2.0 goals per game. The Rams season was highlighted by a 4-3 shootout victory against the Nathan Hale Raiders. The Rams earned a spot in the play-ins and a date with West Seattle away. They thrashed the Wildcats 5-1 and made a statement to watch out for the Rams heading into playoffs.
Ballard (4-8-2)
The Ballard Beavers had a season filled with ups and downs. Looking at their record, you may think the Beavers were getting destroyed by powerhouse schools like Lincoln and O’Dea. Ballard however, had some great results this season including, beating O’Dea not once but twice in 2 weeks both games ending 2-1 to the Beavers. Ballard were a very inconsistent team throughout the season they dropped points to teams they should have beat and won games no one thought they could. If the Beavers can put it all together, they could make a deep playoffs run and maybe even fight for state. They will play Nathan Hale in the first round of playoffs.
Roosevelt (2-7-5)
The Roosevelt Roughriders have never been a dominant program when it comes to boys soccer. This season it looks like more of the same for the Roughriders, they end with only 2 wins coming against Chief Sealth and Ballard. Roosevelt got some good results along the way including draws with Lakeside and O’Dea. They will play Eastside Catholic in the first round of playoffs.
