Nothing too much to say about Mount Rainier versus Highline boys soccer except two good teams went at it on the turf and with 13:55 left in the second half it was the Pirates scoring on a great crossing ball from the right wing by Alex Chisel to the waiting head of Daniel Michel for a 1-0 win at Highline Memorial Stadium Wednesday.

OK, OK, there's, of course, a lot to say about this game of the battle first place supremacy in the Seamount league half way through the season. The Rams dropped to 6-1 in league and 8-1 overall while the Pirates reign supreme halfway through, at 7-0 in league and 8-0 overall.

"That was a beautiful ball," said Tim Crawley, Pirates coach. "That was the prettiest goal I have ever seen."

And, it was beautiful for how it looked certainly to the many fans eyes on each side of the stadium seats but how that goal developed is good to note too.

"We've been practicing crosses in practice," said Crawley.

So the Pirates scored just how they diagramed it in practice.

The goal was handsome, so to speak, but the game?

"That was not a pretty game for us," said Crawley. "But we played hard and went to the ball."

"Evan Richter, our sophomore centmidfielder, was battling a 100 degree temperature," said Crawley. "He and Marshall Kosaka, also a sophomore, control the flow of our game."

Both teams midfields, including senior, captain Ruben Orozco and junior captain Jarrett Thomas to mention two for the Rams, controlled the ball well with most of the action going on in the middle of the field with only a few good close-in shots being able to get by either team's backline defenses.

The Rams took three shots in the first half and the Pirates, four.

One of those shots came from Orozco with 14 minutes left in the first half, a wide shot of far post off a good cross from Ali Abshir. Thomas also just missed a close-in shot off a scrum in the middle from a Rams cornerkick with four minutes left in the first half. Blaise Smith also fired a shot for the Rams with a minute left that went over the crossbar and, a couple minutes before that, Armin Okanovic, on the other end, for the Pirates had a long shot go over the crossbar.

That was just the first half.

The second half was more excitement of the same, with Orozco missing a long shot, far post wide a few inches, at the 15 minute mark in to the half. And, it was the Pirates goal from Michel served from Schisel into the top of the 6-yard danger box area for Michel's diving beauty header after that.

The Rams did have control of the ball the final 10 minutes trying to get the equalizer but they could only get off a couple long shots, one that went over the crossbar from Orozco and another from him too wide of far post.

It was a good game, the Rams captains knew it.

"The game could have gone either way," said Rams captain, Spencer Menella.

"Not finishing on our part hurt us," said Thomas.

"We need to finish our chances," said Thomas.

The Pirates knew it was a good win off a good cross.

"That was a good cross," said Michel. "We were practicing doing that."

Just like that?

"Just like that," Michel said. "It was a perfect cross."

And the game? Perfect. Well ,it was if you weren't a Ram.

"It was a big rivalry game," said Michel.

Both Crawley and Rams coach Jerry Capodanno summed things up perfectly.

"It was a good game," said Crawley. "The good thing is we went to the ball hard."

"It was a good game," said Capodanno. "As long as you try and leave it all on the field. that is all you can do. I am happy with what we are doing."

These two rivals will meet up again, May 4, with quite possibly deciding the league crown and top seed into the playoffs.