Juanita draws 1-1 with Liberty, extends unbeaten streak | Prep soccer

Michael Duncan had a response prepared when asked whether his group of guys, the Juanita High boys' soccer team, was affected by their relatively short stature.

April 20, 2016 2:10 am
Juanita High sophomore Marc Corpus (10) readies for a corner kick in the second half of Tuesday's KingCo League game against Liberty. The Rebels drew 1-1 on Corpus' 67th minute penalty kick goal. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Kirkland Reporter
Juanita High sophomore Marc Corpus (10) readies for a corner kick in the second half of Tuesday's KingCo League game against Liberty. The Rebels drew 1-1 on Corpus' 67th minute penalty kick goal. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Kirkland Reporter

Michael Duncan had a response prepared when asked whether his group of guys, the Juanita High boys’ soccer team, was affected by their relatively short stature.

“No,” he said, quickly, “but they have big hearts. They get in and battle. It’s something we’ve been thinking about quite a bit and wanting to make sure that we have attitude and we’re tenacious and we go out there and battle.”

The Rebels battled back from a first-half deficit on Tuesday, April 19, for a 1-1 draw with Liberty at Juanita High School. Juanita (4-6-2 overall, 4-2-2) remains in second in the KingCo League standings, having won or drawn its last four league matches.

Liberty captain Tyler Wray scored on a free kick just before halftime, and Juanita’s Marc Corpus slotted a penalty kick past Liberty keeper Austin Surber for the tying goal in the 67th minute.

Juanita senior forward Omar Perez had two chances at a game-winner — an open-goal opportunity that went into the side netting in regulation, and a chip that skipped just over the crossbar in overtime. Surber made a kick save late in the second half, and the Patriots managed to clear everything in time.

“We started off slow and they had us for a bit, but we really started to pick it up,” Corpus said. “We got a lot of team combinations going that we couldn’t finish. Part of it’s on us, but we outplayed them at the end.”

It was the second goal of the year for the sophomore jitterbug, a focal point in the center of the attack. More than a handful of times, Corpus drew oohs and ahhs from the gaggle of students in the stands, slipping a pass between a defender’s legs or sending an opponent in entirely the wrong direction.

Corpus, like several of his teammates, stood half a head shorter than the Liberty centerbacks.

“He’s an amazing player — very talented, very technical, and he can manipulate the ball any time he wants,” said Duncan, in his third season with Juanita High. “As he keeps going, next year will be more exciting, but it’s been fun to have him.”

Wins on Tuesday from Lake Washington and Interlake put pressure on Juanita, as the Rebels hold a one-point lead on the Kangaroos and a two-point lead on Interlake with four games remaining in the season.

And with experience on the roster, the Rebels are hungry for success.

“I think this was their year, wanting to go as far as they could and get into a situation where they could make playoffs and maybe even get to play state,” Duncan said. “We have nine seniors, so this is something they’ve been thinking about for a while.”

Making the state playoffs means making and surviving the KingCo Playoffs, which takes the top four teams. From that point, the Rebels can take it one game at a time.

“The only thing that’s going to be holding us back is attitude and making sure we’re giving it 100 percent every game,” Corpus said. “We feel like, individually, there’s not really a team that can compete. We just need to clean up our stuff as a team, as a unit, and we’ll be fine.”