(UPDATE: Sealth won this afternoon’s game, 5-0, and remains undefeated. Video later.)

By Tracy Record and Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers

It’s not all glamour being an undefeated, state-ranked high-school varsity-sports team.

No band, no cheerleaders, no confetti thrown as they arrive at school each day.

Not that the members of Chief Sealth International High School‘s boys-varsity soccer team (7-0-1) are complaining. Not at all.

Too much fuss would be weird, concur the five student athletes with whom we spoke on Thursday morning, as they looked ahead to their next game, 4 pm today at Southwest Athletic Complex vs. Rainier Beach.

All five are upperclassmen – in our top photo, front row from left, Aden Fidow (senior, forward); Simon Crean (senior, outside midfielder); Kristian Nilssen (junior, goalkeeper); back, from left, Brandon Rosario (senior, center midfielder, a team captain), Mori Tsuchiya (junior, center midfielder).

We won’t get into the “Cinderella story” clichés, because that’s not the case here – years of hard work, by players and coaches – including veteran Head Coach Ron Johnson – are simply paying off, as the season reaches the midpoint.

“We saw a good year coming – but didn’t know HOW good,” Simon allows.

The story behind this team does go beyond skill and cohesion. Just a few notes:

Aden immigrated from Somalia in 2010. There, he played soccer barefoot on the beach.

Kristian transferred to Sealth this year from the Vashon Island School District.

Mori’s dad grew up playing soccer in Japan, and has taught him a lot.

Then there’s a player we didn’t get to talk to (he was home sick on Thursday), Dillon Zang, known best as “Coach Dillon.”

He’s there for every game – but he can’t play, because of a torn ligament that’s expected to keep him out for months. “He was a 3-year starter and captain for this year,” explains Sealth athletic director Sam Reed (adding that Dillon is a senior-class officer, too).

Aden offers hope Dillon might be healed by the playoffs; his teammates aren’t so sure. But they are benefiting from him being down on the field every game just the same.

The effect a non-playing team member can have seems to underscore that this team is not about any one player, anyway, the five agree. Or even any two. The magic of the team, the players say, is in its depth – there’s “no drop in level,” as Kristian puts it, if they have to sub somebody.

“Everybody has experience; everybody knows how to play,” Aden observes.

The players are close, too; many have classes together, Mori notes, and hang out together at school.

So back to that thing about recognition. Scarves? No. Brandon says they are seen in their jerseys on game days sometimes; Kristian says they’ll get stopped in the hallways on occasion by fellow students telling them, “Good job!” Chanting from the stands? Not yet, though Aden’s teammates say he does get some callouts from an enthusiastic cheering section. And overall, Simon observes, the crowds are bigger this year.

Yet it’s no time to lean back and say “hey, look at us, unbeaten, #9 in the state.” Coach Ron, according to Kristian, reminds them that the season unfolds “chapter by chapter,” and as with reading – or writing! – a book, you have to “go to the end.”

And the next chapter is just hours away – with Rainier Beach coming to visit. “They have really, really good players,” according to Simon.

Then again, so do the Seahawks. Go cheer them on if you can; game time is 4 pm. If you can’t catch them today, look for a future game – Sealth’s spring-season-sports schedule is here.