Eastlake soccer defeats crosstown rivals Skyline

The Eastlake boys soccer team defeated crosstown rivals Skyline in a close 2-1 match on Friday. Goals by Mazin Elmetwally (5’) and Salih Salem (52’) for the Wolves and Bennett Grenham (40+1’) for the Spartans closed the Sammamish derby in Eastlake’s favor.

Skyline (3-1-0) was handed its first loss of the season, while Eastlake (3-2-0) gained a win after suffering two close defeats in their last three games. 

Skyline maintained more than half of possession, keeping extensive pressure on the Eastlake goal and registering more shots on target than their opponents. In the last five minutes of the game alone, the Spartans drew two offensive free kicks and three corners, but were unable to find the back of the net.

Salem’s goal for the Wolves came early in the second half, as a throw-in set piece was well controlled and passed low across goal. The sophomore midfielder was waiting unmarked for an easy tap-in past Spartan goalkeeper Adam Shahpurwala.

“[The goal] felt great, especially against our rival Skyline. It couldn’t be better and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Salem after the game.

Eastlake set up in a 4-3-1-2 formation in possession, allowing them to ping the ball from their fullbacks to their two strikers, bolstering their chances on the counterattack. Elmetwally’s opener was a result of this tactic. Defender Harjas Sethi’s long ball was controlled well by Landen Levengood, who slotted the ball to Elmetwally in space for a 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper.

Skyline utilized a standard 4-3-3 formation, prioritizing attacks on the wing, often focusing on the ring wing, where the technical abilities of Cooper Logue and Rayirth Dasgupta caused trouble for the Wolves’ defense. They also focused on attacking set pieces, taking advantage of Logue’s long throw to cause havoc in Eastlake’s box. Grenham’s goal in the first half’s injury time resulted from a well executed corner, as the freshman midfielder leaped for a header from close range.