Mountlake Terrace senior forward and captain Ash Jeffers (11) passes in front of a tackle attempt by Lynnwood junior defender Kaue Basso De Souza Machado (4) during the Hawks-Royals game Tuesday, May 5, at Edmonds District Stadium. (Photos by Michael Bury)
Royals junior defender Vincent Ortega (5) makes a hard tackle on Hawks senior forward Esmatullah Quraishi (12) to stop a Hawks run up the bench sideline.
Hawks junior midfielder Tyki Kobayashi (8) and Royals junior midfielder Kai O’Brien (6) tangle over a Hawks high pass at midfield.
Hawks junior defender Rafeal Tewolde (5) steps in on Royals sophomore midfielder Brandon Miller (13) to stop a Royals advance.
Royals senior midfielder Natan Kiflemariam (17) sends a Hawks corner kick away from the Royals goal early in the first half.
Hawks senior forward and captain Nick Portillo (7) starts a run up the bleacher sideline ahead of Royals freshman forward Anthony Onyango (15) late in the first half.
Hawks senior midfielder Charles Bode (6) ends up on the turf after contact with Royals junior midfielder Kai O’brien (6) just before half time.
Royals senior forward Henrry Torres-Hernandez (11) starts the second half with a run up the bench sideline.
Hawks junior goalkeeper Owen Haverland (0) stretches for a save late in the second half.
The Lynnwood Royals celebrate their 3-1 full time victory to end their regular season.

With more than 20 goals this season, the Lynnwood Royals’ Henrry Torres-Hernandez has shown himself to be one of the most prolific scorers in the Wesco League this year. The senior can light up the scoreboard in a number of ways: with well-placed headers or dribbling past defenders, then striking blasts or easing in delicate touch shots with either foot.

So Torres-Hernandez wasn’t going to let the final regular-season match of 2026 pass by without displaying his goal-scoring skills again.

The Royals’ co-captain scored first with his left foot and then with his right in a span of one minute to lead Lynnwood to a 3-1 victory over the Mountlake Terrace Hawks in a 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference matchup played Tuesday at Edmonds Stadium.

Torres-Hernandez’s two scores came in the third and fourth minutes of the second half and changed the whole tone of the game after the Hawks had outplayed the Royals during the 40 minutes.

“They were the better team in the first half,” Torres-Hernandez said. “But after our halftime talk, we got motivated to work as a team, united to come back.”

Terrace had outshot Lynnwood 8-4 in the first half, seemed quicker to lose balls than the Royals and had plenty of possession of the ball deep in Lynnwood territory. 

“First half: Standout, fantastic. I thought we took it to them,” said Terrace Coach Chris Mitalas. “Second half: Two goals totally takes the sway out of things.”

The second-half momentum swing that benefited the Royals actually started just two minutes after the halftime break, when Lynnwood goalkeeper Gustavo Aguilera-Torres gobbled up a hard shot from a sharp angle by Terrace senior Ash Jeffers. 

A minute later, Torres-Hernandez was dashing down the left side of the Terrace 18-yard box and unleashed a low shot with his left foot that beat Hawks’ goalkeeper Owen Haverland on the far side and into the netting.

Then, another minute later, Torres-Hernandez brought the ball down the right side of the Hawks’ 18-yard box and, with his right foot, scored another sharp angle goal, putting the Royals up 2-1.

Scoring multiple goals in different ways in a single game is nothing new for Torres-Hernandez this season. ”Pretty much in almost every game that I’ve scored more than one goal, it’s been with a variety of left foot, right foot or header,” he said.

Torres-Hernandez’s pair of second-half goals erased a slim 1-0 Terrace halftime lead. The Hawks had scored in the 22nd minute when, during yet another Terrace offensive surge, Aguilera-Torres popped up a clearing attempt in his six-yard box. That gave Jeffers an opportunity to rocket the ball into the open Lynnwood goal.

Terrace had chances to build up their 1-0 advantage throughout the first half. But Charles Bode missed wide right from 25 yards out in the 18th minute, Nick Portillo bounced a shot off the crossbar in the 36th minute, and Jeffers had a blast from 20 yards out stopped by Aguilera-Torres in the 37th minute.

The one-goal Terrace lead didn’t last long into the second half as Torres-Hernandez took over the game.

“He’s a force to be reckoned with, and there’s really not much you can do,” Mitalas said of Torres-Hernandez. “You can try to put your best player on him, which we tried. We limited his opportunities in the first half. But he gets a glimpse in the second half and, boom, two goals back to back.”

After Torres-Hernandez gave the Royals their 2-1 lead, Haverland – who had taken over in the goal for sophomore starter Miles Buckwater – kept the Hawks close with a pair of strong second-half saves. Haverland stopped a shot from inside the 18-yard box by Alex Bromley in the 51st minute. In the 69th minute, Haverland dove to his left to knock away a free kick by Omar Somom.

As Terrace (5-7-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference play, 5-10-1 overall) pressed late for a tying goal, Aguilera-Torres made one of his best saves for Lynnwood in the 76th minute, grabbing a hard shot off a free kick by Terrace’s Andrew Seyler.

The late Hawks’ push opened the team up for a Royals’ counterattack; Lynnwood’s Vladyslav Tarasiuk scored an insurance goal in the 80th minute to close out the scoring and finalize the 3-1 Royals’ win.

The Lynnwood victory lifted the Royals’ record to 7-5-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference play, 8-7-1 overall. Lynnwood placed third in the conference, the team’s best league finish since 2017.

Both Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace will now head into the District 1 3A Boys Soccer Tournament, playing loser-out games on Thursday. Seeding and bracket assignments are expected to be finalized on Wednesday. Edmonds-Woodway has also qualified for District tourney play and will also be in action on Thursday in a tournament loser-out contest.

The top four finishers in the District 1 3A tournament will qualify for the WIAA State 3A Boys Soccer Tournament that gets underway later this month.

View the entire District 1 3A Boys Soccer Tournament bracket on the Northwest Conference website.

Prep Boys Soccer: Lynnwood at Mountlake Terrace, May 5

Lynnwood 0 3 – 3

Mountlake Terrace 1 0 – 1

Goal scorers:

– Ash Jeffers (Mountlake Terrace), in the 22nd minute

– Henrry Torres-Hernandez (Lynnwood), in the 43rd minute

– Henrry Torres-Hernandez (Lynnwood), in the 44th minute

– Vladyslav Tarasiuk (Lynnwood), in the 80th minute

Shots:

Lynnwood, 12

Mountlake Terrace, 11

Saves:

Gustavo Aguilera-Torres (Lynnwood), 7

Miles Buckwater (Mountlake Terrace), 0

Owen Haverland (Mountlake Terrace), 3

Corner kicks

Lynnwood, 4

Mountlake Terrace, 4

Yellow cards:

Nick Portillo (Mountlake Terrace), in the 65th minute

Charles Bode (Mountlake Terrace), in second half extra time

Records: Lynnwood 7-5-0 in the 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 8-7-1 overall; Mountlake Terrace 5-7-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 5-10-1 overall

Lynnwood next match: versus team to-be-determined; Thursday, May 7; time to-be-announced at Edmonds Stadium (District 1 3A Boys Soccer Tournament loser-out match)

Mountlake Terrace next match: versus team to-be-determined; Thursday, May 7; time and location to-be-announced; (District 1 3A Boys Soccer Tournament loser-out match)

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