11/17/17
(Sumner, WA) All 6 State Soccer Championships were decided this past weekend and here is our coverage below a write-up on each and every match with some pictures and a large picture gallery at the bottom of the page.
Here is a link to the WIAA Tournament Central page with brackets, scores and more information.
STATE FALL SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Girls 4A (Sparks Stadium, Puyallup) State Bracket
State Championship Issaquah 2, Central Valley 1 Box Score
By MATT MASSEY
Class 4A state championship
Issaquah 2, Central Valley (Spokane) 1 – The Eagles (20-2-0) sent retiring head coach Tom Bunnell out a winner.
Mariah Van Halm, a senior forward, scored her 22nd goal of the season and it was the game-winner as Issaquah rallied from down 1-0 to claim the 4A state championship match on Saturday at Sparks Stadium.
The Eagles had to shut down shut down Central Valley (18-1-0) defensively over the final 50 minutes after Van Halm scored in the 30th minute.
After trailing 1-0, the Eagles shot in front 2-1 on a pair of goals in a three-minute span. It started in the 27th minute when Catey Nelson nailed a twisting header at the right post on a pass from Van Halm and then Van Halm touched in a short shot in the 30th minute.
The win gave Bunnell, who spent 14 seasons as head coach, and the school state title No. 5, moving the Eagles to the top of the big-school ladder in state championships. They joined Shorecrest, Kennedy Catholic and Lakeside with five titles.
3rd Place Game Camas 2, Kennedy Catholic 1 Box Score
Junior Callie Rheaume provided a goal and an assist as the Papermakers (17-3-2) followed up last season’s 4A state title with a third-place trophy.
The Lancers (16-3-3) made a late push, but couldn’t pull even.
Kennedy’s Bailey Hall, a senior forward, cut a 2-0 lead in half by finding the net directly off a corner kick in the 60th minute, glancing the kick off the hands of Camas goalkeeper Falissitie DePasquale.
The Lancers, led by the six saves of goalkeeper Jaclyn Seifert, landed their best finish since earning third in 2008, taking fourth. Kennedy mustered just one goal in its two Final Four matches.
Semi-Final Central Valley (Spokane) 1, Kennedy Catholic 0 Box Score
Central Valley (Spokane) 1, Kennedy Catholic 0 – It took one perfectly-struck touch and some hard-nosed defense for the Bears to get back to the 4A state championship match.
Kaelyn Barnes, a senior forward, slid in a 13-yard shot from the right side, slipping the ball inside the far post on a pss from Kailyn LaBrosse in the 21st minute.
The Bears advanced to the 4A final for first time since back-to-back 4A crowns in 2013 and 2014.
The Lancers (16-2-3) gave up just six goals all season and were in the Final Four for the first time since 2008. They were bidding for first finals appearance since winning the last of their five state titles in 2002 in 3A.
Semi-Final Issaquah 3, Camas 1 Box Score
The focus of the Eagles’ defense was Camas’ leading scorer, Maddie Kemp, who entered with 40 goals and 13 assists for the defending 4A state champions.
Mariah Van Halm and Kate Wilkinson put the Eagles (19-2-0) in front 2-0 in the first 16 minutes, but it wasn’t time celebrate until Catey Nelson hammered in a long shot for a 3-1 cushion in the 71st minute.
Issaquah advanced to the 4A state championship for the 11th time in school history and can send off retiring coach Tom Bunnell in style on Saturday.
Issaquah takes on Central Valley of Spokane (18-0-0) in the 4A championship match on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Eagles go for the school’s fifth state crown in the sport and, if the win, would pull them even for most state titles (5) among big schools with Kennedy, Lakeside and Shorecrest.
A sizzling Kemp shot deflected off Issaquah defenders in the 54th minute as Camas trimmed the lead to 2-1.
Camas (16-3-2) meets Kennedy Catholic for third place on Saturday at noon.
Issaquah is 3-1 against Camas in the state playoffs and beat the Papermakers in the 2015 state semifinals on the way to their 2015 state title in 4A.
Girls 3A (Sparks Stadium, Puyallup) State Bracket
State Championship Mercer Island 4, Stadium 1 Box Score
Senior forward Jessie Stenberg supplied a hat trick on three effort plays as Mercer Island dominated previously unbeaten Stadium of Tacoma to give the Islanders’ program its first state title in the sport in the Class 3A state championship match on Saturday at Sparks Stadium.
Stenberg was instrumental in bringing MI its first state crown in girls basketball and then she stepped up to help deliver the first state title in girls soccer.
For the Islanders (16-1-3), it was all about effort plays all game long, and that meant a title under first-year coach James Valles.
The Islanders went on top 1-0 in the 15th minute when Stenberg polished off a bouncing ball right in front of the Stadium goal. Stenberg nudged the ball in from inches away after a free kick from Kendall Riley bounced off teammate Jackie Gilroy and to the foot of Stenberg.
Stenberg made it 2-0 by punching in a corner kick from Emily Arron in the 23rd minute. Stadium (19-1-0) answered with an 18-yard score from Ella Nadeau shortly after in the 24thminute.
Emily Arron fired a 32-yard shot that skipped off the head of Stadium’s Kayla Fraser and into the left corner of the net in the 30th minute for a 3-1. Stenberg made it 4-1 with a rebound score at the right post in the 75th minute after Emily Arron’s shot went off Stadium goalkeeper Katherine Nelson.
3rd Place Game Kamiakin 1, Bellevue 0 Box Score
Kamiakin (Kennewick) 1, Bellevue 0 – Maddie Morgan, a junior forward, converted in the 17th minute on a pass by Aaliyah Vallardares and that powered the Braves (20-1-0) to third place, the school’s highest finish since a second-place in 3A in 2013.
The Wolverines (14-7-1) were unable to get a shot past Kamiakin goalkeeper Grace Wilbur, who made nine saves. Bellevue took home the fourth-place trophy, following up a banner season in which it won the school’s first state title in the sport in 2016.
Semi-Final Mercer Island 4, Kamiakin 2 Box Score
In the 77th minute, Islanders senior forward Jessie Stenberg essentially put the finishing touches on her team’s first trip to the state championship match since 2009.
Clinging to a 3-2 lead, Stenberg scored in the 77th minute and ended the Braves’ unbeaten season and pushing the Islanders (15-1-3) into the state final.
MI, still seeking the school’s first state crown in girls soccer, also got goals from Kendall Riley (29th minute), Jackie Gilroy (52nd) and Elaina Martin (57th).
In the 66th minute, Kaeri Ward’s goal pulled Kamiakin within a goal at 3-2.
Three other times the Islanders made the state title match in girls soccer and those three time they walked away without a crown. First it was a painful 2-1 overtime shootout loss to Columbia River in 2009 in the 3A final, then a 1-0 loss to Lakeside in 2003 in the 3A title match and a 5-1 denial at the hands of Federal Way in 1991 in the 4A finale (then AAA).
Kamiakin (19-1-0) plays Bellevue (14-6-1) for third place on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Semi-Final Stadium 1, Bellevue 0 Box Score
The defending 3A state champion Wolverines nearly forced overtime with a last-second equalizer, but junior forward Makenzie Burks kept the Tigers’ perfect season intact at 19-0-0 with a clearance off the back line during added time.
Burks also scored the lone goal on the match in the 23rd minute against Bellevue, the defending 3A state champions.
Kiley Suter, the Wolverines’ senior forward, team with Izzy Buck for the final bit of drama and the hope of an overtime-forcing equalizer in added time in the 80th minute. But Suter’s short-range shot on Buck’s corner from the right – the team’s 10th of the match – was sent off the back line by Burks as Suter’s shot headed toward an open right corner of the net just before time was called by the referees.
Stadium (19-0-0) gets its second crack at a state title match with a second title-match appearance and its first since dropping a 5-1 decision to Bellarmine Prep in the 4A final in 2004.
Girls 2A (Shoreline Stadium) State Bracket
State Championship Liberty (Issa) 3, Columbia River 0 Box Score 
This was a re-match of last year’s State Championship game and the Liberty Patriots were hoping for a chance to get another crack at the Chieftains and after a double OT win Columbia River obliged and were set to defend their title.
The Chieftains were again sticking with their plan of digging in on the defense and high substitution rotation hoping that would lead to back-to-back Championships.
The Liberty Patriots had other ideas and their speed and aggressiveness would quickly put the defending Champs on their heels. Senior Makena Carr wasted little time in making it known this year would be different from last year when she connected on a tremendous shot with an assist by Chloe Winn in the 8th minute and the Patriots quickly took control.
Carr would strike again in the 21st with her 2nd goal and this time unassisted and suddenly the CR offense was looking at a 2 goal hole to try and climb out of and trailed by that 2-0 margin at the half.
As the 2nd half began Liberty kept the pressure on the Chieftain defense and broke through with a 3rd goal in the 54th with another unassisted goal this time from Nikayla Copenhaver. This shot really took the wind out of the sails of the defending Champs and they never did challenge as the Pats defense was stingy as can be holding on to the shut-out led by Liberty’s keeper Sophie Mendoza.
This was Liberty’s 2nd State Title winning their 1st Championship in 2013. CR was seeking their 4th State Title.
3rd Place Game White River 3, West Valley (Spo) 2 Box Score
Playing in these 3rd place games can be exceptionally challenging especially coming off a double overtime loss and White River showed it’s weariness throughout the 1st half. Meantime, West Valley was out to prove they were not a fluke making it to the final 4 despite their 9-12 record and they quickly jumped on the tired looking Hornets in the 1st half with a pair of goals to lead at the break 2-0.
The Eagles scored on Abby McConnell’s 3rd goal of the tournament in the 19th minute. West Valley struck again when reserve Morgan Riojas found the back of the net in the 34th. The 2-0 lead looked like it had a great chance of holding up based on the 1st half play of White River.
At halftime it was clear Hornets Coach Joe Birklid challenged his squad asking them is this the way they want to end their season and the answer clearly was an emphatic no. The Hornets came out firing led by senior Annabelle Hall and Haley Gunter. Gunter got things started knocking in a corner kick on the fly to pull within 1 in the 47th minute. Hall then found the equalizer in the 61st with a break-away unassisted score.
Hall then again on a break-away knocked in the game winner in the 78th minute on another unassisted goal to claim the 3rd place trophy and finished 21-1 for the season. West Valley did prove they belonged despite coming up short in the 3rd place game and took home the 4th place trophy.
Semi-Finals Liberty (Issaquah) 6,West Valley (Spokane) 2 Box Score
West Valley was this year’s Cinderella team advancing to the final 4 with a sub 500 record of 9-11 getting hot at the right time of the year. Liberty lost the Championship last year and was looking for redemption and revenge but was not about to look past the Eagles.
Liberty sprinted out to a 3-0 halftime lead scoring in the 7th, 14th and 38th minutes. Nikayla Copenhaver scored first on an assist from Chloe Winn then Copenhaver picked up on an assist passing off to Winn for the 2-0 lead. Liberty added to that lead with a an unassisted goal from Jillian Haffner.
Haffner started the 2nd half scoring for the Patriots with a goal in the 44th and quickly rolled out to a 5-0 lead when Makena Carr struck. The Pats then began rotating back-ups to get playing time and giving the starters plenty of rest for the title match on Saturday.
West Valley got on the board with an impressive run by Abby McConnell in the 54th and then again in the 79th. Liberty’s Ali Gouge score to make the final score 6-2.
Semi-Finals Columbia River 1, White River 0 (2OT) Box Score
This was a knock-down, drag-out affair that saw the tournament’s 1st yellow card, 1st red card and 1st OT. It was also a battle between the defending State 2A Champs in Columbia River and a 20-0 White River squad so something was going to have to give.
Something eventually gave but not in regulation. The biggest issue in regular time was a red card issued to White River’s Kinlee Hofstrom in just the 44th minute for contacting a Chieftain player in the head with her forearm. The official drew the straight red card and just like that the Hornets were down to 10 for the rest of the match.
Columbia River did not change their plan and with a heavy rotation of players continued to focus on defense and with every passing 5 minutes White River was getting closer to a shoot-out where they be on equal terms in trying to win this important Semi-final. It worked through regulation and the 1st 5 minute OT but CR suddenly struck and ended the match in the 86th minute when Yanaisy Rodriguez fired a high shot over the top and hit the upper left quarter stunning the Hornets and handing them their 1st loss of the season. CR would get a chance to defend their State Championship.
Girls 1A (Shoreline Stadium) State Bracket
State Championship King’s 2, Cascade 1 (Shoot-Out 8-7, 9 rounds) Box Score
The State Championship game was an instant classic as both teams stuck to their core philosophies and they ended up cancelling each other out for 90 minutes. The Knights a more aggressive, attacking team took the strength of their squad into the teeth of Cascade’s strength, defense. The Kodiak’s relied on that strong backline defense and Devan Archer in goal and stymied the attack oriented Knights throughout the 1st half.
Cascade takes time to build to a counter attack and they also had some opportunities in the 1st half but were also turned away by the King’s defense led by keeper Grace Roberts.
the struggle continued as time ticked down in the 2nd half and looked like maybe we would be headed to extra time in a 0-0 tie. Then with just a little more than half the period gone Ashley Parton struck with a laser shot in the 62nd and as difficult as getting a ball past one of the keepers it looked like this might be the game winner.
King’s countered knowing time was not on their side and finally found a wrinkle in the Cascade defense 8-minutes later in the 70th and Katie Stella knocked in the equalizer with an assist from Annie Rasmussen. The two teams would then stalemate not only through the rest of regulation but through 2 5-minute golden goal OT periods forcing the Championship to be decided in a shoot-out.
You knew this was not going to be an ordinary shoot-out either as it went 9 rounds to decide with King’s pulling off the win in an 8-7 shoot-out showdown. King’s Annie Rasmussen knocked in the winning goal with a beautiful shot to the right post and to Archer’s left. Archer guessed correctly and moved immediately to her left but simply wasn’t long enough to get to the ball as Rasmussen placed between the small gap of Archer’s outstretched hands and the post and the King’s team exploded in celebration.
After 8 Final 4 appearances for King’s, the Knights won their 1st ever Girls Soccer State Championship. Cascade matched the school’s best finish with a 2nd place trophy which they won in 2015.
3rd Place Game La Salle 3, Seattle Academy 2 Box Score
After a rough semi-final the Cardinals finally got things going in the 1st half of the 3rd place game and scored a goal to go up 1-0 over the Lightning who had yet to score a goal through 3 40-minute halves of State Soccer. SAAS got on the board first in the 35th minute after a persistent attack. It was Lucia Rosenast who took the ball off a rebound set up by a corner kick and booted it back in gave the Cards the lead at halftime.
In the 2nd half the Lightning finally found their groove and knocked one into the back of the net. The ice-breaker would come in the 43rd minute on a beautiful shot from Tatina White. Lightning would strike again in the 61st when Kamryn Fiscus took a pass from Gillian Martin and knocked it in to give La Salle it’s first lead of the tournament. Fiscus added to their lead on a penalty kick in the 68th minute to go up 3-1.
SAAS did not give in and scored a late goal in the 80th minute by Caitlin Calfo with a great outside shot but it was too little, too late and La Salle finished with the 3rd place trophy and Seattle academy 4th.
Semi-Final Cascade (Leavenworth) 2, La Salle 0 Box Score
This game was billed as maybe the best of the day, it was the kick-off match on Friday at 2pm and the Kodiaks and Lightning certainly set the bar high. La Salle cane out of the gates flying with several runs on goal and shots that somehow missed. The Lightning could have easily burst out to a 2-0 lead but not finishing would be a theme for La Salle.
Cascade’s keeper Devan Archer was denying the Lightning with some fantastic saves with help from a sturdy backline. The Kodiaks took a defensive posture for the first 20 minutes and then quickly flipped with more offensive pressure. That pressure paid off in the 25th when Ashley Parton booted in the 1st goal of the tournament off an assist from Lauren Richardson. This score would stand to the break with the Kodiaks up 1-0.
The 2nd half played out much like the first with La Salle making deep runs and getting good opportunities but between missing shots and great keeper play from Archer Cascade held on to the 1-0 lead and clinched it with a 2nd goal late in the match in the 79th minute again from Parton but this time Laura Gaines added the assist. Cascade advanced to play King’s for the Championship.
Semi-Final King’s 2, Seattle Academy 0 Box Score
In a rough and tumble game the King’s Knights avenged an earlier loss to the Cardinals by taking control of this match right from the start. King’s came out pressing the pace early and it paid off in the 6th minute when Katie Stella took an assist from Emma Fleming and knocked it into the net for a 1-0 which held up to halftime.
Despite feeling like they were controlling the game King’s still led by just 1 goal and the Cardinals were starting to put together some serious runs challenging the backline of the Knights defense.
King’s then got the important insurance goal in the 53rd minutes when Callie Wright connected on a beautiful shot past the keeper giving King’s a 2-0 lead. King’s keeper Grace Roberts completed the shut out and the Knights advanced to the State Championship.
Girls 1B/2B (Sunset Chev Stadium, Sumner) State Bracket
State Championship Life Christian 1, St George’s 0 Box Score
3rd Place Game Brewster 2, Adna 0 Box Score
Senior midfielder Naytalia Chapman, slowed during the post-season by an injury, came through in the 21st minute, feeding Tyler Taff for the only goal of the championship game, lifting Life Christian past St. George’s (11-5-1).
Statistically, the Eagles (15-4) deserved the win, outshooting St. George’s 17-10 and accruing seven corner kicks to the Dragons’ five. Abby Pierson recorded four saves to get the shutout for Life Christian.
Both teams had advanced to the finals by beating teams that had their number previously. Life Christian got past Adna, which had defeated them three times while St. George’s, which had lost twice to Brewster, handed their Bears’ their first lost of the season to advance.
In the third place game, Brewster (20-1) rebounded to get goals from two of their three stellar up-front attackers, seniors Marlissa Garcia and Yalina Vargas, to blank Adna (16-4) by a 2-0 count. Garcia also assisted on Vargas’ goal.
Kimberley Nila picked up the shutout in goal for the Bears, though she had to stop only one shot, off the foot of the Pirates sophomore sensation Payton Aselton. Offensively, Brewster’s statistical edge was vast. The Bears had more total shots, 24-4, and more corner kicks, 10-1.
Semi-Final St. George’s 2, Brewster 1 (Shoot-out 5-3) Box Score
Semi-Final Life Christian Academy 2, Adna 1 (Shoot-out 4-3) Box Score
Upsetting as it was for undefeated Brewster and District 4 champion Adna, two penalty kick shootouts went the way of the underdogs Friday night as St. George’s and Life Christian Academy qualified for the championship game of the Washington 1B/2B Girls Soccer State Championships at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner
Both games ended with the official score of 2-1 as Life Christian – which had lost three times to Adna in the regular season and district playoffs – knocked off the Pirates and St. George’s – losers of an early season game to Brewster – overcame the Bears (19-1).
St. George’s and Life Christian meet for the championship at 2 p.m. while Brewster and Adna meet at 10 a.m. for third place.
Life Christian (14-4) put pressure on Adna (16-3), which had beaten the Eagles 4-3 in the District 4 finals two weeks ago, early when Amanda Hamel took a long crossing pass from Tyler Taff and lofted it over the head of goalkeeper Makaela Meister in the 11th minute.
Ten minutes later, though, Adna star Payton Aselton bombed a 33-yard free kick over the head of Eagle goalkeeper Abby Pierson to tie it. Seventy minutes of scoreless soccer ensued, though Life Christian got off 10 shots to Adna’s two during regular and ten minutes of overtime.
The Eagles removed Pierson four seconds from the end of the second overtime to allow usual forward Alea Yun to take over in goal for the shootout.
The first three shooters for each team scored, but Meister saved Life Christian defender Elysse Loyola’s attempt in the fourth round to temporarily give the Pirates an edge. But Emily Sliva fired her shot right at Yun, who made the save to turn the shootout into a sudden death affair.
Taff’s shot caromed off the hands of Meister into the net and when Yun made her second save, against Jordan Swenson, Life Christian had its first win of the season over Adna and a berth in the state finals against St. George’s.
The Dragons had fallen behind in their semi-final, 1-0 after just over a minute when Brewster’s Yvette Sanchez found the upper left corner over the shoulder of St. George’s goalkeeper Cate Caporicci.
The Bears’ lead held until the 50th minute when Brewster goalkeeper Kimberly Nila tapped the ball at the goal kick spot then back up to take a harder swing at it. St. George’s Alli Dixon, realizing the ball was live, ran up and popped the ball into the net before Nila could react.
The 1-1 tie held through overtime.
A third round shootout save by Caporicci off Brewster’s Marlissa Garcia gave the Dragons the edge. When Sydney Wilcox led off the fifth round with a goal, St. George’s (11-4-1) had clinched its spot in the final.
Boys 1B/2B (Sunset Chev Stadium, Sumner) State Bracket
State Championship Crosspoint 2, St George’s 0 Box Score
3rd Place Game Prescott 4, Orcas Island 0 Box Score
Junior defender Harrison McArdle broke a scoreless tie in the 58th minute with an unassisted goal and senior midfielder Grant Baker added another eight minutes later as Crosspoint (19-1) wrapped up its first 1B/2B title, snapping a two-year championship streak by St. George’s (14-2-2).
The match was an even one statistically as the Dragons had a slight edge in both total shots, 12-11, and corner kicks, 3-2.
The Warriors had advanced with a 1-0 victory over Orcas Island on Friday night. A Jackson Kimmel penalty kick was the only score of the match. Nathanael Cash recorded the first of two shutouts on the tournament in that one for Crosspoint.
In Saturday’s third place game, Prescott’s offense overwhelmed Orcas Island, 4-0. The Tigers totaled 25 shots to just 11 for the Vikings and held the edge in corner kicks, 9-5.
Alejandro Blanco, who had taken 12 shots in Prescott’s semi-final loss to St. George’s, took eight more on Saturday including the goal that broke a scoreless tie 31 minutes in on an assist from Jose Gonzalez. Just before haltime, Gonzalez assisted again, this time to Jonathan Iglesias.
An own goal by Orcas Island (12-6) made it 3-0 early in the second half before Gonzalez closed out the scoring with an unassisted goal in traffic from 12 yards out in the 69th minute. Jose Iglesias recorded a three-save shutout for Prescott (10-7-1).
Semi-Final St. George’s 3, Prescott 1 Box Score
Semi-Final Crosspoint 1, Orcas Island 0 Box Score
St. George’s boys (14-1-2) gave the Spokane private school a chance for a boy/girl sweep of state with a 3-1 victory over Prescott (9-7-1). Unlike their girls, the Dragons went into the match a slight favorite, having beaten the Tigers 2-1 and tied them 0-0 during the season.
St. George’s will meet Crosspoint (18-1), which downed Orcas Island (12-5), 1-0, via a first half penalty kick, in Saturday’s championship match at 4 p.m. Prescott plays Orcas Island for third at 12 noon.
The Dragons opened the scoring on a long unassisted blast by Mitchell Ward in the 33rd minute but found themselves tied before halftime as Jose Gonzalez cashed in a rebound off a shot by Jonathan Iglesias after a scramble in front of the net.
Prescott hung around, equaling the Dragons in shots with 17, but couldn’t score again while St. George’s broke the tie in the 60th minute on a rebound shot by Marcus Manson and added an insurance goal in the 70th minute. Cade Peplinski outjumped the Tiger defense to cash in a corner kick by Ward.
Sophomore Alejandro Blanco was the most active Tiger offensively, firing a remarkable 12 of Prescott’s 17 shots, three of which were on goal and had to be saved by Dragon goalkeeper Ethan Johnson.
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