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Photos by Lainey Poelzer of Clover Laine Photography
Kennedy Catholic High School’s Lancers varsity soccer crew opens its 2026 season this Saturday towards Bellevue with a deep group of working backs and quarterbacks, a younger offensive line and a schedule designed to problem the crew early.
The Lancers season opener is scheduled for 1 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 5, at Highline Memorial Stadium.
“I like our team,” Lancers coach Pat Jones advised The B-Town Blog. “We’re very deep at running backs. We’re very deep at quarterback. We’re fairly deep on the O line, but we’re young on the O line.”
Jones mentioned the younger offensive linemen can have an early studying curve, however he welcomes the chance to check the crew towards robust opponents.
“That’s why I like to play really good teams at the beginning of the year,” Jones mentioned. “Because you learn the most, and then by the time you come to the playoffs, you start applying what you learned.”
Kennedy Catholic competes within the North Puget Sound League (NPSL) on the 4A degree, and enters the season ranked No. 22 in Washington and No. 11 among the many state’s 4A groups in MaxPreps’ newest crew rankings. The Lancers had an 8-3 document in 2025 after going 11-1 in 2024 and 10-2 in 2023.
MaxPreps’ 2026 preseason rankings positioned Bellevue No. 2 within the state and Mount Tahoma No. 9, giving Kennedy two highly-ranked opponents to for the primary two video games of the season.
Jones is coming into his fourth season as Kennedy’s head coach. He joined Sheldon Cross’ workers in 2019 and served as an assistant head coach earlier than taking up this system in fall 2023.
This most up-to-date offseason centered on gamers lifting and conditioning collectively. Jones mentioned Washington highschool soccer groups can not conduct soccer teaching throughout the offseason, however gamers can prepare as a gaggle.
“I’ve been on 11 state championship teams and been in 15 state title games in my football career,” Jones mentioned. “I could tell you the teams that win state, they lift together in the offseason. Without exception.”
Jones mentioned offseason coaching helps gamers develop into larger, sooner and stronger, and he emphasised the impact it has on crew relationships.
“Guys are dedicated to each other and the team, and they have each other’s back, and they can build trust, and they can depend on each other,” Jones mentioned. “That’s what’s huge about it.”
Several gamers are anticipated to play vital roles for the Lancers. Jones highlighted cornerback and broad receiver Jordan Noel, quarterback Desmond Parkinson, quarterbacks Tommy Marshall and Jordan Blake, 4 yr working again and linebacker Nico Lecksiwilai, Portland State commit Royce Miller, two approach all league participant Jalen Haywood and sophomore Yoshi Nu’u.
Jones mentioned Lecksiwilai has developed right into a crew chief and shall be a bodily presence on offense.
“He’s literally a four year, two way starter,” Jones mentioned. “He’s team captain. He’ll be kind of the hammer on offense, if you know what I mean.”
Miller is dedicated to Portland State, in line with Jones, however is not going to play early within the season due to a knee damage suffered throughout monitor. Jones mentioned Haywood additionally will return later within the season after recovering from an damage.
Jones described Nu’u as a dynamic participant on either side of the ball. Nu’u earned all league recognition as a freshman, Jones mentioned.
The coach mentioned he’s impressed by Coach Dwaine Hatch, whom Jones performed for at Bellevue. Hatch launched the Wing T offense at Bellevue, a system Kennedy additionally makes use of partially.
“He was like a second father to me,” Jones mentioned. “Just the way he carried himself, the way he was so disciplined. Tough, but fair.”
Jones mentioned Kennedy has the velocity and measurement to be aggressive, although accidents might have an effect on the crew early.
“It’s going to be a fun team to watch,” Jones mentioned. “It’s going to be competitive. We’ve got a lot of team speed.”
Learn extra about Lancer soccer right here:
| DATE/TIME | OPPONENT | TYPE | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Sept. 5 1 p.m. | Bellevue HS | Non-Conference | Highline Memorial Stadium |
| Thu., Sept. 10 7 p.m. | Mount Tahoma HS | Non-Conference | Mount Tahoma High School |
| Sat., Sept. 19 1 p.m. | Stadium HS | Conference | Highline Memorial Stadium |
| Sat., Sept. 26 1 p.m. | Kentwood HS | Conference | Highline Memorial Stadium |
| Sat., Oct. 3 12 p.m. | Auburn HS | Conference | Highline Memorial Stadium |
| Fri., Oct. 9 7 p.m. | Mount Rainier HS | Conference | Highline Memorial Stadium |
| Fri., Oct. 16 7 p.m. | Auburn Riverside HS | Conference | Auburn Memorial Stadium |
| Fri., Oct. 23 7 p.m. | Tahoma HS | Conference | Maple View Middle School |
| Sat., Oct. 31 1 p.m. | Kentridge HS | Conference | Highline Memorial Stadium |
#GoLancers
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