Kamiakin grad drafted by the Yankees + Youth soccer team heads to U.S. championships
In all honesty, Jason Quintero never really envisioned his soccer team making the national tournament.
Quintero coaches the Three Rivers Black 19U girls team — a squad that has been battling injuries all spring and summer. Heck, the team went three weeks this season without a natural keeper on the field.
Yet, here they are playing in the 2022 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando.
The team opens play on Tuesday evening in pool play at 5 p.m. (Pacific) against South Mississippi.
It’s all a first for Three Rivers, said Quintero, who besides being the team’s coach is also Three Rivers’ Youth Director.
“We’ve had teams win state tournaments,” said Quintero. “But I don’t think anyone from here has ever gone to nationals.”
To do that, 3R Black had to qualify for the state tournament, win that, and then win at regionals.
The girls went undefeated in league, with just a draw in their opener.
Getting to nationals was no easy task, as the team went 1-1-1 in pool play at Western Regionals in Boise in late June.
Still, the squad qualified for bracket play, and it ended beating the United Premier out of Portland 3-1 in the title match to advance to nationals.
And despite having to go through three goalkeepers, thanks to injuries, the 3R Black seems to find a way to win.
“We’ve used 22 players this season,” Quintero said. “And these girls have learned how to play a mature, sophisticated way.”
The best part about this squad?
“There are no divas on this team,” Quintero said.
The players will do whatever it takes to win. And they don’t get intimidated.
In a game at regionals, the 3R Black faced a squad whose front line was full of commits — omen headed to Stanford and two of them to Boise State.
Didn’t matter.
“We play a kind of demanding hard-press style,” said Quintero. “These kids all buy in. There is no typical teenage drama. And they all play any position that’s asked of them.”
That lack of a goalkeeper for three weeks?
“Others volunteered to step in,” said Quintero.
And they still won.
That’s why he’s already a happy coach with this team.
“I have no expectations down there,” he said. “We’re going down there to fight, whether we’re up 3-0 or losing 3-0. We have a dogfight mentality.”
Sports Notes:
- The Three Rivers Black is in Pool D of this 16-team tournament. It will have three pool-play contests. At 5 p.m. Wednesday, the Tri-Cities team plays the Strikers of Fox Valley, Ill.; and they’ll finish pool play at 3 p.m., Thursday, against Total Futbol Academy from Ohio.
- After a day off on Friday, the top teams in the four pools will enter into the semifinals, with games at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. The national championship game will be played at 7 a.m. on Sunday.
- Quintero is hoping to take the team to a friendly Saturday night in Orlando that features two English Premier League teams in Arsenal and Chelsea.
- Team members playing in Orlando are: Ellie Cortes, Violet Duran, Kelsey Fulton, Danika Galbraith, Emma Haertling, Kate Hollenberg, Madison Joyner, Sierra Larios, Kelsey Lovercheck, Reilly Lovercheck, Claire Nguyen, Lindsey Pasena-Littlesky, Kaylie Pearson, Claire Potter, Adelyn Suarez, Ava Suarez, Meredith Winiarski, and Maya Wunschel.
- Those players who contributed to the team’s cause this season, but aren’t going to Orlando, are: Rylee Goins, Margot Massey, Savannah Taylor, Grace Truman, and Karma Valentine.
Baseball
Congratulations goes out to Kamiakin High School graduate Trystan Vrieling, who was selected in Major League Baseball’s draft on Monday.
Vrieling, who pitches for Gonzaga University, was picked in the third round (100th overall selection) by the New York Yankees.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound, right-handed sophomore was 4-4 this spring for the nationally ranked Bulldogs.
In 80.2 innings pitched, Vrieling struck out 107 batters. He had a 4.91 earned run average, and opposing batters hit .246 against him.
Vrieling — who was selected as a second-team All-West Coast Conference pitcher this spring — was one of four GU pitchers drafted in the first 10 rounds.
Little League baseball
The Greater Richland Little League all-star team opened state tournament play on Sunday with a 4-0 victory over West Seattle.
GRLL, the district 12 champion, was seeded with a first-round bye in the 13-team tournament that opened Saturday in both Lynwood and Everett.
With its victory, Richland now advances into the winners’ bracket semifinals to play Woodinville at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the region’s other district champion — Walla Walla Valley out of district 5 — lost its state opener to Mill Creek. WWV was set to play in a loser-out game against Bainbridge Island on Monday.
▪ In the state tournament for 11-year-olds, District 12 champion Richland National and District 5 champion Walla Walla Valley are still alive in the loser’s bracket in Federal Way.
Both Richland and Walla Walla opened the state tourney against each other, with WWV winning 4-3.
That sent Richland National into the loser’s bracket, and the Tri-City team beat South Kitsap Eastern Little League 12-1 in an elimination game on Sunday.
RNLL then ousted South Hill of Spokane 16-1 on Monday.
Richland next plays West Seattle at 6 p.m. Tuesday in another loser-out contest.
After Walla Walla Valley’s opening-round win, it fell 15-1 on Sunday to Larch Mountain to fall into the loser’s bracket.
On Monday, WWVLL bounced back, eliminating Burlington-Edison 11-8.
Next, Walla Walla plays Pacific Little League at 6 p.m. loser-out game Tuesday.