EdCC women take fourth

Published 10:51 am Friday, February 29, 2008

TUKWILA — Whether or not success can be measured in wins and losses, the Edmonds Community College women’s soccer team seemed content with the way it ended its 2004 campaign.

The Tritons (9-4-3) finished in fourth place in the NWAACC tournament after losing to Spokane Community College 1-0 in a game that continually tested their defense Nov. 21 at the Starfire Soccer Complex in Tukwila.

Spokane forward Angie Grandinetti scored the game’s only goal on a put-back from a shot which deflected off of Edmonds goalkeeper Tricia McMillin, at the 35:30 mark of the first half.

The Sasquatch (13-1-2) were able to keep Edmonds’ shots to a minimum by keeping the ball in their own attack zone for the majority of the game.

“Our missing piece is having someone that can score,” Edmonds coach Teddy Mitalas said. “Our defense is fine. You can only have so many corner kicks in each game, and get so many breakaways, but you just need somebody that can finish, and we didn’t have that capability.”

Out of 19 teams in the NWAACC, the Edmonds offense finished 10th in goal scoring, producing only 32 goals this season.

“When you look at our stats, 10 goals against, but only like 28 goals for, when everybody else has like 60 goals,” Mitalas said.

However, the Tritons did assert themselves defensively throughout the year, boasting 11 shutouts, which helped earn them a tournament berth.

At the core of the defensive unit was NWAACC all-stars Cat Baller, Sinead Hennessy and McMillin. Amy Galyan was also nominated as midfielder, while Rebecca Carlson made the all-star team as forward.

“We did a lot better than we expected to do, we had a revamped team,” Mitalas said. “Camaraderie is a lot better this year.”

He said although he thought this team could’ve won the tournament, the fourth place finish wasn’t entirely a disappointment.

“They were bummed losing to Tacoma yesterday, but (today) was a fun game, and that’s what we wanted to make it out to be,” Mitalas said.

“Last year, I was more into the winning, part because I wanted to be in the final four again, and then when we had to suspend girls, it kind of killed us, and I went on to discipline instead of worrying about winning,” Mitalas said. “And this year, that’s the same attitude I came here with. I wanted them to have fun and make sure everybody gets along, and they did, and look here, we got to the final four.”

Although Mitalas led another successful season for Edmonds, he said he will be resigning from his position as head coach, in order to assume an assistant coaching position at Highline Community College next year.

Despite his impending absence, what Mitalas hopes to have instilled in his players during his last season as their coach goes beyond wins and losses. The team was a family, he said.

“I want them to be together,” Mitalas said.