Archbishop Murphy poised to defend state soccer title

Published 5:59 pm Wednesday, March 16, 2016

EVERETT — The names may be different, but the goal is the same for the Archbishop Murphy High School boys soccer team:

Win it all.

The Wildcats begin the defense of their 2A state title when they travel to Camas on Friday, and despite player attrition they believe they have what it takes to repeat.

“Last year we ended it the way we dreamed of doing it,” senior defender/midfielder and co-captain Parker Buchanan said. “But this year I don’t think it’s any different. The drive is still the same. Now it’s not really about winning it again, it’s keeping it and not having to return the trophy.”

Archbishop Murphy had a banner 2015. The Wildcats went 21-1-1, outscored their opponents 97-9, then beat Fife 3-0 in the state championship game for the school’s third state title in boys soccer.

However, Archbishop Murphy has just six starters returning from last season’s team. Among those who graduated are defender Ben Adams, who was voted the Cascade Conference Defensive Player of the Year, as well as a pair of fellow first-team selections in defender Gunnar Swenson and midfielder Gabe Astone.

But perhaps the biggest loss is midfielder Brady Henderson. Henderson was named the conference Player of the Year last season as a junior, and he was the one who orchestrated the offense from his attacking central midfield position. However, he chose not to play as a senior, instead committing his time to his Seattle Sounders FC Academy team.

Yet the Wildcats are undeterred by the holes that need to be filled.

“I think losing those seniors doesn’t affect us too much,” junior forward and co-captain Matt Williams said. “I think we’ve kept the same core group of guys. I think what made us so successful last year was how close we were. So I think going forth into this season, keeping that bond and just being more of a family is going to give us more success.”

This is a younger Archbishop Murphy team, as Buchanan and forward Jake Price are the only seniors on the team. So it will be the junior class that serves as the core of the squad. The Wildcats have nine juniors, many of whom are teammates on the Everett-based Washington Rush club team. All those juniors contributed as sophomores, but they’ll be asked to fill bigger roles this year.

“They’re a special group because seven of them play on the same select team year-round,” Archbishop Murphy coach Mike Bartley said. “So they are so close. It’s fun because when teams get together at the beginning you usually have them from different clubs, so you have to break that bond. But not here, they’re already together, on track, know what they have to do. They’re really excited right now because they can’t wait to play, they love to play.”

The junior class includes two first-team Cascade Conference selections in Williams and goalkeeper Ryan Henderson. However, Henderson is switching from playing goalkeeper to playing in the field. Henderson will help fill a hole either on defense or up front, but it means the Wildcats still have to sort out their situation in goal.

As for those in the junior class who are expected to take on bigger roles and become impact players this season, Bartley said forward Diego Rios and winger Jensen Crisler are ready to answer the call.

“Losing a couple seniors last year is definitely going to have an impact,” Buchanan said. “We lost both our center backs, so we have a lot of changes we need to make this year. But the technical ability this year is off the charts. We’re all players who have played at the top level, so if we get the chemistry together our potential is just going to be insane.”

The Wildcats will find out exactly where they stand right off the bat. Camas is a 4A school that qualified for the state tournament each of the past 17 years. If Archbishop Murphy can get a result against the Papermakers on Friday, they’ll know their goal of repeating as 2A state champs is attainable.

“More than anything I think it’s a really big confidence measurement,” Williams said. “With a win there it could really set the tone for what our realistic goals are for the rest of the season. We’ve been put in this situation twice before. We played Skyline (a regular participant in the 4A state tournament) before and competed well both times we played them. I think the Camas game is a really good measuring stick of what we need to do and what it takes to play at a high level. Having a successful result there would result in a lot of success down the regular season.”

A season the Wildcats hope results in another state title.