By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SALEM, Ore.– The McKay Boys Soccer team continues the preseason tradition of the McKay Invitational on Saturday.
Hosting North Salem, McNary and McMinnville, the four squads prepare for the long season ahead by playing three, 30-minute scrimmages where athlete’s showcased their talents entering Try-Outs while building that all important team chemistry that will hopefully lead them into deep playoff runs later on.
“It’s exciting. We have a lot of talent here. Last year, McMinnville took it. It’s a blast, we have a good amount of parents show up and the boys…it’s a quick little tournament. Quick 30-minute games, it’s a lot of fun,” said McKay Head Coach Juan Llamas. “Last year was our rebuild year. Last year wasn’t the best, and we had a losing record. That’s my first one in seven years. Rebuild years are tough…the players I have this year, they know the system. We played great against McMinnville, we tied 1-1, North, and we beat them 2-0. Now McNary, they’re going to be a challenge.”
The Celtics and Scots tied 1-1 to close out the tournament, respectively. McKay went 1-0-2 as they look to build off of their 7-8, 5A State Playoff appearance this Fall, and the Celtics went 1-1-1, McNary defeated the Vikings before falling to the Grizzlies of McMinnville 2-1 prior to their game with McKay.
Brandon Quevedo scored the lone goal for the Celts in the tie against the Scots as the tournament served as a good chance going into try-outs for them to build momentum in what they’re hoping ends with their fourth-straight Central Valley Conference title.
“It’s good. It’s a good beginning to see where the team is. I’m pretty proud of the team. We’re looking good, we just got a couple of things to work on. Just creating that team chemistry as a team and keep moving forward,” Quevedo said.
For North Salem, who reached the 6A State Playoffs this past season, they use the Invite to give the younger players an opportunity to see what it takes to play against Varsity talent. JV and incoming Freshman players get a chance to use Saturday as a chance to see where they stack up going into try-outs on Monday.
“I love doing this because it gives the new guys, the freshman and guys who haven’t played at the Varsity level an opportunity to feel what it is to play in a stadium, to play with a crowd, to play for something like that,” said Vikings Head Coach Moises Mendoza. “You can see that they are hungry, some of them are nervous but you can see that they’re doing everything they can to earn a spot on this year’s Varsity roster and that makes me excited to see hungry guys. As a coach, that’s all I could ask for.”
McMinnville won the Invitational Title on Saturday.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
