SEQUIM — A switch to striker from his former position in midfield paid off many times over this season for Sequim sophomore Liam Harris.
“We started with him playing in center midfield,” longtime Wolves boys soccer coach Dave Brasher said.
“It just became apparent real quick that he had molded himself into a classic striker. He’s really good at scoring goals.
“Liam is a big, tall target, has good feet and he has really good vision for a forward. He can create for others.”
Harris produced a team-high 11 goals to go along with seven assists this spring, helping Sequim rally for a second-place finish in Olympic League 2A Division play and a district playoff berth.
He was voted to the Olympic League 2A Division first team by the league’s coaches.
Harris also has been selected as the All-Peninsula Boys Soccer MVP by area coaches and the sports staff of the Peninsula Daily News.
“It’s my passion,” said Harris, who plays the sport year-round with Puyallup-based Washington Premier FC.
“I love playing. I just always want to play and get better and get to the next level. I want to keep going and play in college.”
Harris’ passion for the game was stoked by an early brush with world-class soccer.
Brasher, a longtime friend of Liam’s father Tom, recalls a trip the group took to the World Cup in Germany when Liam was 6 years old.
“My older nephews would torture little Liam when they were kicking the ball around,” Brasher said.
“We’d go and play pickup soccer with the German kids in the parks and they were older and Liam was never afraid. He’d go right at them.”
Harris hasn’t lost the fearlessness needed to play at a high level.
“He knows good soccer, he’s seen it up close and it rubs off on the way he plays,” Brasher said.
“Part of it is his physical stature. He’s a tall lanky kid and that helps a lot, but even as a freshman he was not out of his element at all.”
Harris was a spark for Sequim’s late-season run in which the Wolves won eight of their final nine regular season contests.
He said the Wolves’ second win in that run, a 5-1 drubbing of Bremerton, was crucial in building confidence.
“That game felt like a turning point for our team,” Harris said.
“We went down 1-0 early and we sort of went on a run in that game, and I felt like the whole team played really well. I think I scored two goals, but it was more important that the whole team was connecting and working together.”
Harris did score two goals in that game and also assisted on a hat trick by fellow sophomore striker Josiah Urquiah.
“Liam was a real instigator for us,” Brasher said after the game.
Harris also stood out in both Rainshadow Rumble soccer contests with rival Port Angeles.
He assisted on Sequim’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to the Roughriders in March.
“Liam had just gone back into the game with us down 2-0 and took a really long shot that was like a deep 3-pointer in basketball, a heat check,” Brasher said.
“It kind of dipped and hit the post and Konnor [Parish] was there to score on the rebound.”
Harris helped the Wolves get revenge with a three-goal explosion in a 4-1 win over Port Angeles at Civic Field.
“The second PA game when I scored the hat trick was definitely a big highlight,” Harris said.
He also pointed to a close win against North Kitsap in the season’s final stretch. Harris scored the game’s lone goal following up on his own miss.
“The second NK Game when we won 1-0,” Harris said.
“I felt that was a really big achievement as a whole. We weren’t necessarily the dominant team, but we got the one goal we needed.”
With two years of club and high school soccer remaining, Brasher believes Harris has the ability to become one of the best soccer players Sequim has ever produced.
“I do, yeah,” Brasher said.
“He’s still learning, still willing to learn, and he’s getting a lot of good coaching, not just the high school level, but with an elite club team.
“High school is a place where he can have a lot of fun in the short season, but I’ve joked with his parents that he should just drop out of school and play club soccer full time.”
Harris is hoping to go further in the playoffs as an upperclassman.
“I’m hoping that we can make a better run in the postseason next year and the year after,” Harris said.
“Make a good push and go to state and win some games.”
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 57050 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
