Arlington shuts down Stanwood

STANWOOD As Arlington faced archrival Stanwood in a March 22 soccer match at the Spartans stadium, it seemed visiting team could do no wrong.
Arlington sophomore forward Brett Strong set up his teams first two goals, both of which were delivered by senior Zach Fulwiller.
With a secure lead, Arlington backed off a little and rotated in bench players. Unfortunately for Stanwood, who fell to 0-5 on the season, neither their offense nor their goalkeeper had a lot of success as the game went on. With 12:45 left in the first half, junior midfielder James Chesnutt hit a long lob from about 30 yards out. The Stanwood goalkeeper misjudged the slow balls direction, and it rolled in to give Arlington their third goal of the game.
Though Stanwood soccer has struggled in the early going of this season, including a 9-0 loss to Marysville-Pilchuck, Arlington coach Mike Gudgeon was hesitant to sell Stanwood short, attributing the cross-school competition as a big motivator.
Were rivals, so when it comes to rivalries, anything can happen, he said.
Gudgeon added that with goals coming from three different players including a fourth goal in the final minute by Walter Flores Arlington has strength thanks to its many contributors on offense.
Senior Keith Bayer recorded the shutout.
With the win, Arlington improved to 3-1, already just one win behind their total number of victories last season. However, Arlingtons only major test so far this season has been Snohomish, who clocked them 6-0 March 18.
Were getting ready to test ourselves against some of the big dogs in the league and see where we are, Gudgeon said of his teams upcoming schedule. Ahead lies Lake Stevens (March 25), Monroe (March 28), M-P (March 31) and Cascade (April 2). Three of those teams earned playoff berths last spring.
Of their game against Stanwood, Gudgeon added, Im really proud of them. Everyone was really positive, and that just translated into a really positive game.

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