“I liked your game, grandpa.”
Those words delivered by the smiling face of the young granddaughter of Oak Harbor High School soccer coach Brian Thompson helped take some of the sting out of what just happened on the pitch.
Oak Harbor and Marysville Getchell tied 1-1 Wednesday, May 4, at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.
The Wildcats needed to win to advance to the district tournament. The match ended Oak Harbor’s season; it also brought to an end Thompson’s coaching career.
Thompson announced earlier this spring that this season would be his last after 23 years in the program, the past six as head coach.
Getchell entered the regular-season finale with a two-point lead over Oak Harbor in the Western Conference standings. The Wildcats needed the three points earned for a win to jump past the Chargers into the seventh and final playoff berth.
“At least I didn’t go out with a loss,” Thompson said, trying to put a positive spin on the outcome. “The kids played a great game; everyone played hard, it just didn’t fall our way.”
The Wildcat lineup was crippled by injuries much of the season, and Oak Harbor most likely would have picked up at least one more win along the way, the one that would have lifted the Wildcats into the playoffs, had all hands been on deck.
Thompson refused to use that as an excuse.
“Shoulda, coulda, woulda,” he said. “You can’t look back; you have to look forward.”
In the Getchell match, Oak Harbor suffered through several near misses before it scored with about 12 minutes left in the first half. Spencer Champion lofted a shot from 25 yards out that just cleared the leaping Charger keeper for the score.
In the second half, Oak Harbor produced several other strong scoring opportunities. Two minutes in, a free kick from 11 yards out missed, then 10 minutes later, Getchell used a diving stop to block JJ Mitchell’s 20-yard, left-footed rocket.
Midway through the half, Getchell stopped Mitchell’s header off a corner kick.
Oak Harbor goalkeeper Jared Hoyt and the Wildcat defense stopped each Charger assault, including a dangerous three-shot flurry with 24 minutes left, until the 17:20 mark. The Chargers knotted the match with a 40-yard free kick.
Oak Harbor’s offense picked up. A header barely missed and a long free ball was tapped over the cross bar.
Each following attack was turned back, but seconds before the end of the match, Oak Harbor earned an excellent chance to pick up the win.
Mitchell drove through the Charger defense and was fouled in front of the net and received a penalty kick. A diving stop, however, saved MG.
Oak Harbor dominated the two five-minute overtime periods but couldn’t get the winner as the Charger keeper snared saves off of two headers and a final 26-yard free kick.
After the match a stream of players, with tears in their eyes, shook Thompson’s hand. A bittersweet moment for the retiring coach, tempered by a tug on the pants by a little hand.
