The relaxed atmosphere at Wednesday’s Grays Harbor Gulls practice was no indication of the crucial matchup they have ahead of them.

If Grays Harbor loses to Snohomish on Saturday and Federal Way defeats Nido Aguila Club America Seattle on July 21, the Gulls will have to start the 2020 season in Division Two of the Western Washington Premier League.

While Gulls can find themselves in relegation with a loss in their last game of the season, the mood at practice was light despite the pressure.

Head coach Drew Grannemann led the team in traditional drills early in the practice and allowed his players to work on trick-shot penalty kicks at the end of the night.

Alex Barene, left, and Gulls head coach Drew Grannemann have a discussion during a shooting drill at practice. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

Grannemann said the laid back mood during the last practice before the last game of the season should benefit his team on match day.

“It’s important to understand what we’re heading into, but relax as well. We did our normal warm up, some possession drills and then we kind of broke out and had fun,” he said. “For a match like this weekend it’s important to ease the mind. Let them have fun, let them do silly things during PK’s, because that’s when they play better, when they are at ease and not tensed up.”

Gulls forward Alex Barene doesn’t always consider relaxed practices a good thing, however. He said it can be difficult to walk the line between playing relaxed and bringing a level of a complacency into the game.

“We want to be able to play freely and not play under pressure. But I don’t think it’s necessarily good to practice that way and prepare any differently than you would otherwise,” he said.

Barene thinks intensity, especially in the opening minutes of the match, could be the key to coming out victorious and ending the season strong against a physical team.

Grannemann estimates that the Gulls are more bereft of height and size than any other team in the league and doesn’t want to put his players in a situation where they will get out-muscled.

Barene said he hopes to see his team keep good shape in the back while he and the other forwards look to use speed to create chances.

“We don’t want to get scored on, so we want to keep things compact in the back, but at the same time, if you don’t score goals, you’re not going to win,” he said. “We want to get out to a good start, score in the first 15 or 20 minutes and see where it goes from there.”

Cesar Carona, left, and Victor Carona, right, joke with Jaunito Lopez during a drill at practice. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

In last week’s home loss to Redmond, it was Crossfire that got out to a fast start. The Gulls conceded a goal in the fifth minute and two more late in the second half on their way to a 3-0 loss on Fan Appreciation Day at Stewart Field.

A win against a Redmond team that only dressed 11 players for the match would have guaranteed Grays Harbor a place Division One.

Aaron Arias missed the last week’s game and said not being around for the loss may actually be a benefit as everyone focuses on Snohomish.

“I’m coming in clean-headed. I just want to be there and work hard for the last game,” he said. “I’m not really thinking about the past and I don’t think these guys are either. We just want to finish at the top of the league and that’s what we’re going for.”

The match is just as important for Snohomish, which has one game left on the schedule after its game against Grays Harbor and still has a shot at the league title if they pick up a pair of wins to end the season.

Grannemann said he expects Snohomish to test his team in all aspects.

“It’s going to be an all-fronts battle and we are going to have to take 15 different attacks mentally, physically, emotionally to try and come out on top,” he said. “I think our guys are strong enough to take it in stride and overcome it.”