EVERETT — As a lethal scoring threat and the lone forward in Archbishop Murphy’s attack, Talia Daigle was always the focal point of opposing defenses’ game plans. That meant a steady stream of double teams — and sometimes even triple teams.
Yet none of it slowed down the prolific senior standout.
Daigle fended off the onslaught of defensive pressure and recorded 26 goals and 16 assists this season while leading the Wildcats to five consecutive elimination-match victories and a third-place finish in the Class 2A state tournament. For her stellar play, Daigle is The Herald’s 2016 Girls Soccer Player of the Year.
“She was fearless,” Murphy head coach Michael Bartley said. “It didn’t bother her to be by herself against two or three defenders. She never complained. She knew that (her teammates) were getting great opportunities because they were one-on-one. Most (players would) get frustrated or quit running, but she never did.”
After playing on the wing for her first three seasons, Daigle moved to forward this fall. And though being front and center was a bit out of character for the ever-humble and unselfish star, Daigle embraced the challenge and faced it head-on.
After all, it was best for the team.
“This year, from day one, she said, ‘I want to be up top, in front of the goal and making things happen,’” Bartley said. “And she took that role on — you could see how serious she was about it. And it helped a lot, because it just set the foundation for everybody else.”
The transition was no easy task. The Wildcats employ a 4-2-3-1 formation, meaning that only one forward plays up front. That left Daigle to take on multiple defenders by herself.
“(Defenses) were marking her with two center backs most of the time and getting on her, not allowing her to get the ball,” Bartley said. “So she had to be creative in the way she was making her runs to get free.”
Daigle, a 5-foot-3 left-footed speedster and Western Washington University commit, admitted that it took some getting used to. But the move ultimately paved the way for a high-powered Murphy attack that totaled 75 goals this season.
“At first it was really frustrating, because I couldn’t really do that much when they would double-team me,” Daigle said. “But it opened up other people, and I think that’s a main reason why we scored (so much).”
Daigle became masterful at creating space for herself and others — either by outrunning defenders, or outwitting them.
“She possesses a ton of speed,” Bartley said. “She could run at back lines, and the whole line would drop with her. That’s why other people got opportunities. She would create that. But if they didn’t drop, they were toast, because they never could catch her.”
“Tactically, she understands a lot about the game,” Bartley added. “She knew how to move defenses around with her runs and create opportunities for others, or create space for them to break into. Then the teams would shift, and she’d be open.”
And with pinpoint finishing ability to complement her blazing speed, that meant trouble for opposing defenses.
“She’s a magnificent finisher — probably one of the best clinical finishers I’ve seen … She’s got a lethal left foot,” Bartley said. “She doesn’t just hit it on frame — she’s putting it right in the corners. Twenty-six goals, you don’t do it by luck.”
Daigle, the Cascade Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year, recorded at least a goal or an assist in 19 of the team’s 25 matches this fall. She finishes with 57 goals and 36 assists in her career.
“She’s started all four years, but this year I think she showed her best,” Bartley said. “And when the games got tougher, she got better … She was the big-moment person. She could come through when we needed goals. She found a way.”
Daigle saved her best for last, beginning with a hat trick in a 5-0 district elimination win over Bellingham that sent the Wildcats to the state tournament. She then recorded five goals and four assists at state, logging both a goal and an assist in each of the team’s four matches.
Daigle’s signature moment came in the state quarterfinal against Fife, when she sent a free kick into the upper corner of the net with two minutes remaining to lift Murphy into the semifinals with a 2-1 victory.
“The goalkeeper was a little off-center,” Bartley said. “She saw that and she knew right where to put it. And she put it right where she was aiming. She’s that good.”
Bartley also points back to a play this season when Daigle raced past the back line of defenders, caught up to the ball and — while running at full speed — one-timed a perfectly placed volley into the upper corner of the net.
“She’s just capable of those types of goals,” Bartley said. “It was fun to come out and watch and see what might happen each (game).”
Even more impressive is that Daigle’s remarkable senior season followed a junior year that was cut short by injury. In the opening match of last season’s district tournament, Daigle landed awkwardly and suffered a broken leg that sidelined her for nearly four months.
“It was weird how it happened,” Daigle said. “I just landed on it wrong. I was so devastated after it happened. Coming back to high school season this year, I was really nervous because I just didn’t want to injure myself again. But I kind of just forgot about it and played.”
The injury only further demonstrated Daigle’s value to the Wildcats — without their star, last season’s promising campaign came to an end with back-to-back losses.
But Daigle’s impact stretches well beyond her play.
Bartley said that this year’s team is one of the most tight-knit groups he’s ever coached, and that Daigle played a major role in fostering the family environment. Daigle and her fellow seniors were always quick to mentor the underclassmen — whether that meant offering soccer tips on the pitch or homework help on the bus.
“She never really took it like, ‘It’s about me,’” Bartley said. “She’s not that type of person. It was more about helping us be successful and helping all the youngsters. Next year’s team will be so much better, just because of her and (the seniors).”
Murphy senior midfielder Caroline Adams, a longtime friend and club soccer teammate, also praised Daigle’s down-to-earth persona. “She’s pretty silly and doesn’t take herself too seriously, which is really awesome to have on the field and as a friend.”
Daigle is set to continue her soccer career next season at Western Washington, which just last week won the NCAA Division II national championship. Bartley is thrilled for her and is already planning a team field trip next year to one of the Vikings’ road matches in Seattle.
But he also acknowledges how difficult it’ll be to see Daigle bid farewell to Murphy.
“I’m going to miss her,” Bartley said. “I mean, wow, what a void … Being here (at Murphy), I get to meet a lot of special people. And she’s one of them.”
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