News / Sports / Prep Sports / Preps Seasonal Previews

Boys Soccer: Jake Connop, most of defense back from River’s state title team

The Columbian

Published: March 18, 2019, 3:50pm

Columbia River forward Jake Connop, 14, led the Chieftains to an undefeated season and a 2A state title last year. Alisha Jucevic/The Columbian

The Columbia River boys soccer team rode its defense to a 2A state title last season. It allowed nine goals all season, capped by an emphatic 2-0 win over Burlington-Edison in the state title game last May.

Three of the four in the back line are returning starters, but perhaps the Chieftains’ most impactful returning player, and one of the top returners across the county, is junior center forward Jake Connop.

But ask Connop, the goal-scorer, the heat-seeker, the bulldog, what he takes pride in from last year’s undefeated season, and none of the aforementioned comes to mind: the number nine.

Nine, as in the number of goals allowed.

“Not 10,” Connop said. “Didn’t get to double-digits. Nine.”

That’s pointed praise coming from one of two All-Region team selections returning this season. And he means it.

Connop believes River, which graduated eight starters (11 total seniors) from last season, brings back the talent to make another run. He certainly feels pressure. The Chieftains have not lost a game since May 16, 2017 — nearly two years ago.

“Now everyone wants to beat us,” Connop said. “Of course we’ve got the biggest target on our back. I think we’ll take that as fuel and work harder. I think we’ll come out in the end with a good record. I’m not really too concerned. I think we have a good team, a strong team.”

That starts in the back line. Jackson Kleier, David Worthen and Alex Ashmore return from last year’s starting defense.

Kleier noted that the target that comes from bringing a 23-0 season into this year is something the team is used to.

“We started going to every game with the mindset that they’re going to be throwing everything they have at us, we’ve got to be ready to counteract that, fight and win every game,” Kleier said.

That’s where having a solid back line comes in handy, he said.

Between the boys and girls programs at River, Afenegus is on a run that features four state title appearances and two wins in a three year span.

That will be tested against a tough league slate that includes Woodland, a team which returns brothers Aidan and Jesse Thrall. Aidan Thrall was an All-Region team selection last season for a Beavers team that lost in the first round of the state tournament after finishing second in the 2A Greater St. Helens League and second at districts.

Afenegus points to the talented defenses, and a team mentality that centers around not letting goals in.

“It’s hard to be consistently good on offense, not hard to be consistently good defensively,” Afenegus said.

But if Connop has anything to say about it, the Chieftains will score more goals this year, too.

ATHLETES TO WATCH

4A Greater St. Helens League

Aiden McGinty, Union

Carysen Lundeen, Battle Ground

Jay Ball, Union

Grant Reinhardt, Battle Ground

Joshua Verrinder, Skyview

Justin Cibart, Heritage

Luke Davidson, Camas

3A Greater St. Helens League

Aaron Espinoza, Hudson’s Bay

Justin Lufkin-Quandt, Mountain View

Jose Tizol-Moralez, Fort Vancouver

Vitaliy Kozakov, Evergreen

2A Greater St. Helens League

Cole Wagner, Ridgefield

Jake Connop, Columbia River

Aidan Thrall, Woodland

Jesse Thrall, Woodland

Tanner Hough, Hockinson

Alex Ashmore, Columbia River

1A Trico League

Brendon Leach, La Center

Blake Beckwith, Seton Catholic

Serafim Apostolou, Seton Catholic

Landon Martin, La Center

Sean Fox, La Center

Ethan Peterson, King’s Way

Related Stories