Led by 11 seniors including Griffin Small, one of the best high school and club goalkeepers on the west side of the state, the Edmonds-Woodway boys soccer team is looking to be much improved this spring.

“We’re a lot closer than usual,” Small said of his teammates. “We have a lot more experience with guys who play select and year-round.”

Small has “great range,” said E-W coach Tony Gilman, controlling the six-yard goal box and beyond, while also targeting players with his punts.

“Everything hinges on Griffin,” Gilman said. “He’s so good he can cover up a lot of mistakes that people in front of him make.”

The Warriors finished 4-10-2 overall last year—4-7-2 in Wesco 4A play— while missing the postseason.

As E-W moves down a classification to 3A, the Warriors find themselves in 13-team Wesco 3A/2A league, with schools from Oak Harbor to the north to perennial powerhouse Shorecrest to the south. Teams will play 12 league games, playing each team once.

The top seven teams in the well-stocked league will move on to play in 3A districts.

“There’s nobody you can check off the list of games and say, ‘We’ve got that one,’” said Gilman, who is in his 22nd season at E-W, the longest tenured coach in the league along with Shorecrest’s Drew Thompson. “You don’t dare do that.”

Edmonds finished its non-league schedule with a 2-1-1 record after a 2-1 loss at home to Redmond, Tuesday night.

The Warriors open Wesco 3A/2A League play at 7:30 p.m. this Friday against Stanwood at Edmonds Stadium.

Small, a senior, is a four-year starter in goal. He’s one of only three players to start all four years during Gilman’s 22 years coaching the program. Small signed a letter of intent to play at St. Martin’s University, an NCAA Division II school in Lacey. Small is also the starting goalkeeper for his select team, the U-18 Snohomish United squad.

“He’s an exceptionally gifted young man at that position,” Gilman said. “We’ve been lucky in that respect.”

Small has two shutouts so far this season, wins over Jackson and Monroe, both 4A schools.

Small will have a more experienced defense playing in front of him this season. Two returning seniors, Alejandro Peregrino (center fullback) and Trey Clugston (outside fullback), and a returning junior Jake Stevenson (right fullback) are upperclassmen who played together last year.

“It’s a pretty good group in that respect,” Gilman said.

Sophomore Cameron Cohn rounds out the starting back line.

Peregrino is the defender who is going to be heard from the most.

“He is the most vocal person on that back line,” Gilman said. “Very loud and positive, very precise.”

The Warriors will start five midfielders most of the time with one forward, however, they will mix it up as well, Gilman said. The lineup includes an attacking center midfielder.

“You never like to be predictable,” he said. “We have a lot of kids that can play multiple spots.”

The forwards include junior Ethan Hopkins and senior Jose Aleman, the latter who joined the team this year.

Daniel Liland, a senior, and exchange student from Norway will play center midfield, and has mixed in really well, Gilman said.

Junior Jeremy Langsted will play the other center midfield spot.

Playing on the wing, are varsity returner, junior Edwing Martinez, and freshman Armon Tenaw, who will also play forward.

The Warriors don’t have defined team captains —they’ll rotate after being chosen a week before each game. The team spread its votes for captain among seven players after last season, so no clear-cut leaders emerged.

“We try to do something different, get everyone to engage and take more ownership,” Gilman said.

The team is strong academically as well, Gilman said, with 16 of the 19 varsity players having a 3.0 grade point average or higher right now.

The soccer field is used for track meets on Thursdays, so the team practices indoors in the school gym on those days. Half the team holds a tutoring session during the first half of practice, while the other half plays indoor soccer or dodgeball before switching for the last half of practice.

— By Tony Dondero