The Washington Demons have put together a very good boys’ soccer season, but their sights are set higher. Washington wants playoff wins as well, and that journey starts tonight when the Demons take on Carlisle in the Class 3A Substate 8 semifinals, a game you can hear on AM and FM KCII.

Washington is 9-5, with four of those losses by only one goal. Junior forward Manny Raymundo has been a star, leading the team with 19 goals and 11 assists. But junior midfielders Brayan Arreola and Isaac Gentry have played at an extremely high level this season, while other scoring threats like senior Fredy Aguilar, freshman Edwin Cortes and sophomores Kelver Lopez and Kevin Marcelino have emerged.

Mix in an all-state defensive back in senior Angel Mata leading a stingy back line and junior keeper Will Gilchrist Brock giving up only 16 goals total this season, and you can see why Demons head coach Sally Hart tells KCII Sports that she has a squad capable of beating anybody.

“The fact that they’ve been able to play together for so long,” Hart says, “I think you can’t really measure that, but it speaks for itself when you see it happening. Having that core group of juniors has been really great. Our defensive line has been really strong.”

Washington will need to put their best foot forward to defeat the Carlisle Wildcats, who are 11-4 and ranked eleventh in the state in 3A. The Demons look for their first trip to a substate final in program history, and you can hear all the action on KCII. Pregame coverage starts this evening at 5 o’clock on 102.5 FM and AM 1380 as well as streaming on KCIIradio.com.